# 1996 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election

Legislative Assembly elections were held in the Indian state of West Bengal in 1996. The election took place simultaneously with the 1996 Indian general election. This was the last election Jyoti Basu contested, as he retired from politics in 2000.

## Parties
### Left Front

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) had fielded 70 new candidates, but many of them failed to get elected. The All India Forward Bloc had suffered a split before the election, with the emergence of the Forward Bloc (Socialist).
The Left Front supported Janata Dal candidates in five constituencies.

### Indian National Congress

Factionalism was rife within the state Congress unit. After being out of power in the state for about 20 years with no significant increase in either vote-share or number of seats in the last 15 years, most state Congress leaders had given up the hopes of defeating the Left Front & sought to re-evaluate their strategy. The elections took place alongside the general elections, in which there were 4 major players - the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Hindu right wing alliance, the centre-left alliance led by Janata Dal made up of Congress dissidents, the centrist alliance of the Congress party & the leftist alliance of Communist parties, out of which the BJP & JD didn't have much influence in the state. In 1991, the Congress under P. V. Narasimha Rao was able to form a minority government with the support of the Janata Dal, however Rao's tenure saw the Congress rife with defection of some of its senior leaders & charges of corruption. The political climate of India was charged with the issue of Ram-mandir, following the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992. The BJP made the construction of Ram-mandir on the Ram Janmabhoomi site its primary electoral promise while the Janata Dal banked on the implementation of the Mandal Commission report as its main electoral plank in order to counter the BJP, leading to conflict between OBC & SC groups. However, the Mandir-Mandal issue didn't have much impact in the politics of the state which had been under Communist rule since 1977. As the Janata Dal was open to supporting both BJP & Congress, the support of the Left Front became the more important on the national stage. CPI(M) stalwart & the incumbent Chief Minister Jyoti Basu had been even offered the post of Prime Minister by the Congress when the Janata Dal government of V. P. Singh collapsed in 1990 due to BJP's withdrawal of support & again when the Congress withdrew its support from Chandra Shekhar's government in 1991.
In midst of such political instability, 2 factions developed within the state Congress unit. One faction led by Pranab Mukherjee was in favour of forging an electoral understanding with the Left Front in the state in order to gain their support on the national level. The other faction led by anti-Communist leaders like Siddharta Shankar Ray & Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi was stauchly opposed to it. The rivalry between these 2 groups played out in open during the 1992 elections to the post of state PCC president. The pro-Communist faction sided with Mukherjee's protégé, 4-time Sealdah MLA Somen Mitra, while the anti-Communist faction sided with Ray's protégé, state Youth Congress president & South Kolkata MP Mamata Banerjee. Mukherjee played a decisive role in ensuring Mitra's victory in this election by having Banerjee's main supporter Ray sent out of the state as India's ambassador to the US at that time. Somen Mitra's and Mamata Banerjee's factions continued to fight over the choice of candidates to be fielded. Banerjee played an important role in rallying public support for the party & fielding many new faces from the Youth Congress as the party's candidate.
The Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury contested the Nabagram seat from jail, being imprisoned on murder charges. His speeches were recorded from prison and played at campaign meetings.
The Indian National Congress and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha had entered into alliance.

## Results

The Left Front won the election, entering into government for a fifth consecutive term. Winning 203 out of 294 seats, the 1996 election represented the first major electoral set-back for the Left Front since its foundation. The electoral losses were primarily felt in Calcutta and the industrial areas, and nine incumbent Left Front ministers failed to get re-elected. All JD candidates finished in second place and RCPI lost its representation in the assembly. However, in terms of votes the Left Front and the five JD candidates got 18,143,795 votes (49.3%). Jyoti Basu's fifth Left Front government was sworn in, with 48 ministers representing all 13 districts of the state.
| Party | Party | Candidates | Seats | Votes | % |
| Left Front and allies | Communist Party of India (Marxist) | 213 | 153 | 13,670,198 | 37.16 |
| Left Front and allies | All India Forward Bloc | 34 | 21 | 1,912,183 | 5.20 |
| Left Front and allies | Revolutionary Socialist Party | 23 | 18 | 1,367,439 | 3.72 |
| Left Front and allies | Communist Party of India | 12 | 6 | 642,993 | 1.75 |
| Left Front and allies | Marxist Forward Bloc | 2 | 2 | 150,099 | 0.41 |
| Left Front and allies | Democratic Socialist Party (Prabodh Chandra) | 2 | 2 | 129,367 | 0.35 |
| Left Front and allies | Revolutionary Communist Party of India (Rasik Bhatt) | 2 | 0 | 105,366 | 0.29 |
| Left Front and allies | Biplobi Bangla Congress | 1 | 1 | 60,453 | 0.16 |
| Left Front and allies | Janata Dal | 5 | 0 | 105,697 | 0.29 |
| Indian National Congress | Indian National Congress | 288 | 82 | 14,523,964 | 39.48 |
| Bharatiya Janata Party | Bharatiya Janata Party | 292 | 0 | 2,372,480 | 6.45 |
| Gorkha National Liberation Front | Gorkha National Liberation Front | 3 | 3 | 161,498 | 0.44 |
| Jharkhand Party (Naren) | Jharkhand Party (Naren) | 8 | 1 | 145,503 | 0.40 |
| Jharkhand Mukti Morcha | Jharkhand Mukti Morcha | 26 | 0 | 134,436 | 0.37 |
| Forward Bloc (Socialist) | Forward Bloc (Socialist) | 20 | 1 | 123,316 | 0.34 |
| Bahujan Samaj Party | Bahujan Samaj Party | 48 | 0 | 67,853 | 0.18 |
| Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation | Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation | 30 | 0 | 47,206 | 0.13 |
| Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League | Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League | 3 | 0 | 43,261 | 0.12 |
| All India Indira Congress (Tiwari) | All India Indira Congress (Tiwari) | 29 | 0 | 20,555 | 0.06 |
| Muslim League | Muslim League | 20 | 0 | 19,221 | 0.05 |
| Amra Bangalee | Amra Bangalee | 46 | 0 | 17,330 | 0.05 |
| Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (Mardi) | Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (Mardi) | 5 | 0 | 11,593 | 0.03 |
| Pachim Banga Rajya Muslim League | Pachim Banga Rajya Muslim League | 5 | 0 | 5,359 | 0.01 |
| Indian National League | Indian National League | 7 | 0 | 4,480 | 0.01 |
| Social Action Party | Social Action Party | 16 | 0 | 4,476 | 0.01 |
| Jharkhand Party | Jharkhand Party | 5 | 0 | 3,533 | 0.01 |
| Hul Jharkhand Party | Hul Jharkhand Party | 2 | 0 | 3,309 | 0.01 |
| Bharatiya Minorities Suraksha Mahasangh | Bharatiya Minorities Suraksha Mahasangh | 2 | 0 | 2,448 | 0.01 |
| Samajwadi Jan Parishad | Samajwadi Jan Parishad | 2 | 0 | 1,218 | 0.00 |
| Indian Democratic People's Party | Indian Democratic People's Party | 3 | 0 | 515 | 0.00 |
| All India Christian Democratic and Backward People's Party | All India Christian Democratic and Backward People's Party | 1 | 0 | 392 | 0.00 |
| Indian Union Muslim League | Indian Union Muslim League | 1 | 0 | 251 | 0.00 |
| Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha | Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha | 2 | 0 | 178 | 0.00 |
| Akhil Bharatiya Jan Sangh | Akhil Bharatiya Jan Sangh | 1 | 0 | 49 | 0.00 |
| Independents | Independents | 844 | 4 | 898,677 | 2.44 |
| Total | Total | 2,035 | 294 | 36,788,753 | 100 |
| Source: Election Commission of India ||||||

## Elected members

| Constituency | Reserved for (SC/ST/None) | Member | Party |
| Mekliganj | SC | Ramesh Roy | All India Forward Bloc |
| Sitalkuchi | SC | Sudhir Pramanik | Communist Party of India |
| Mathabhanga | SC | Dinesh Chandra Dakua | Communist Party of India |
| Cooch Behar North | None | Mihir Goswami | Indian National Congress |
| Cooch Behar West | None | Soumindra Chandra Das | All India Forward Bloc |
| Sitai | None | Md. Fazle Haque | Independent |
| Dinhata | None | Kamal Guha | Forward Bloc |
| Natabari | None | Sibendra Narayan Chowdhuri | Communist Party of India |
| Tufanganj | SC | Puspa Chandra Das | Communist Party of India |
| Kumargram | ST | Salib Toppo | Revolutionary Socialist Party |
| Kalchini | ST | Manohar Tirkey | Revolutionary Socialist Party |
| Alipurduars | None | Nirmal Das | Revolutionary Socialist Party |
| Falakata | SC | Jogesh Chandra Barman | Communist Party of India |
| Madarihat | ST | Sushil Kujur | Revolutionary Socialist Party |
| Dhupguri | SC | Banamali Roy | Communist Party of India |
| Nagrakata | ST | Chaitan Munda | Communist Party of India |
| Mainaguri | SC | Bachchamohan Roy | Revolutionary Socialist Party |
| Mal | ST | Jagannath Oraon | Communist Party of India |
| Kranti | None | Sudhan Raha | Communist Party of India |
| Jalpaiguri | None | Anupam Sen | Indian National Congress |
| Rajganj | SC | Jatindra Nath Roy | Communist Party of India |
| Kalimpong | None | Gaulan Lepcha | Gorkha National Liberation Front |
| Darjeeling | None | Nar Bahadur Chettri | Gorkha National Liberation Front |
| Kurseong | None | Shanta Chhetri | Gorkha National Liberation Front |
| Siliguri | None | Ashok Bhattacharya | Communist Party of India |
| Phansidewa | ST | Prokash Minj | Communist Party of India |
| Chopra | None | Mahamuddin | Communist Party of India |
| Islampur | None | Abdul Karim Chowdhury | Indian National Congress |
| Goalpokhar | None | Hafiz Alam Sairani | All India Forward Bloc |
| Karandighi | None | Suresh Chandra Singha | All India Forward Bloc |
| Raiganj | SC | Dilip Kumar Das | Indian National Congress |
| Kaliaganj | SC | Pramatha Nath Ray | Indian National Congress |
| Kushmandi | SC | Narmada Chandra Roy | Revolutionary Socialist Party |
| Itahar | None | Sri Kumar Mukherjee | Communist Party of India |
| Gangarampur | None | Minati Ghosh | Communist Party of India |
| Tapan | ST | Khara Soren | Revolutionary Socialist Party |
| Kumarganj | None | Roy Dwijendra Nath | Communist Party of India |
| Balurghat | None | Biswanath Choudhury | Revolutionary Socialist Party |
| Habibpur | ST | Jadu Hembram | Communist Party of India |
| Gajol | ST | Debnath Murmu | Communist Party of India |
| Kharba | None | Mahbubul Hoque | Indian National Congress |
| Harishchandrapur | None | Birendra Kumar Maitra | All India Forward Bloc |
| Ratua | None | Samar Mukherjee | Indian National Congress |
| Araidanga | None | Sabitri Mitra | Indian National Congress |
| Malda | SC | Phani Bhusan Roy | Indian National Congress |
| Englishbazar | None | Goutam Chakravartty | Indian National Congress |
| Manikchak | None | Ram Prabesh Mondal | Indian National Congress |
| Suzapur | None | Rubi Noor | Indian National Congress |
| Kaliachak | None | Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury | Indian National Congress |
| Farakka | None | Mainul Haque | Indian National Congress |
| Aurangabad | None | Humayun Reza | Indian National Congress |
| Suti | None | Mohammad Sohrab | Indian National Congress |
| Sagardighi | SC | Das Paresh Nath | Communist Party of India |
| Jangipur | None | Habibur Rahaman | Indian National Congress |
| Lalgola | None | Abu Hena | Indian National Congress |
| Bhagabangola | None | Abu Sufian Sarkar | Indian National Congress |
| Nabagram | None | Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury | Indian National Congress |
| Murshidabad | None | Mozammel Haque | Independent |
| Jalangi | None | Unus Sarkar | Communist Party of India |
| Domkal | None | Anisur Rahman | Communist Party of India |
| Naoda | None | Jayanta Kumar Biswas | Revolutionary Socialist Party |
| Hariharpara | None | Mozammel Haque | Communist Party of India |
| Berhampore | None | Maya Rani Paul | Indian National Congress |
| Beldanga | None | Timir Baran Bhaduri | Revolutionary Socialist Party |
| Kandi | None | Atish Chandra Sinha | Indian National Congress |
| Khargram | SC | Biswanath Mandal | Communist Party of India |
| Barwan | None | Debabrata Banerjee | Revolutionary Socialist Party |
| Bharatpur | None | Id Mahammad | Revolutionary Socialist Party |
| Karimpur | None | Chittaranjan Biswas | Communist Party of India |
| Palashipara | None | Kamalendu Sanyal (sasthi) | Communist Party of India |
| Nakashipara | None | Shaikh Khabir Uddin Ahmed | Communist Party of India |
| Kaliganj | None | Abdus Salam Munshi | Indian National Congress |
| Chapra | None | Mir Quasem Mondal | Communist Party of India |
| Krishnaganj | SC | Sushil Biswas | Communist Party of India |
| Krishnagar East | None | Sibdas Mukherjee | Indian National Congress |
| Krishnagar West | None | Sunil Kumar Ghosh | Communist Party of India |
| Nabadwip | None | Biswanath Mitra | Communist Party of India |
| Santipur | None | Ajoy De | Indian National Congress |
| Hanskhali | SC | Biswas Shashanka Shekhor | Indian National Congress |
| Ranaghat East | SC | Binay Krishna Biswas | Communist Party of India |
| Ranaghat West | None | Shankar Singha | Indian National Congress |
| Chakdaha | None | Satyasadhan Chakraborty | Communist Party of India |
| Haringhata | None | Mili Hira | Communist Party of India |
| Bagdaha | SC | Kamalakshi Biswas | All India Forward Bloc |
| Bongaon | None | Pankaj Ghosh | Communist Party of India |
| Gaighata | None | Manmatha Roy | Communist Party of India |
| Habra | None | Baren Basu | Communist Party of India |
| Ashokenagar | None | Nirode Roy Choudhury | Communist Party of India |
| Amdanga | None | Hashim Abdul Halim | Communist Party of India |
| Barasat | None | Ashoke Mukherjee | Indian National Congress |
| Rajarhat | SC | Rabindra Nath Mandal | Communist Party of India |
| Deganga | None | Md. Yakub | All India Forward Bloc |
| Swarupnagar | None | Mostafa Bin Quassem | Communist Party of India |
| Baduria | None | Quazi Abdul Guffar | Indian National Congress |
| Basirhat | None | Narayan Mukherjee | Communist Party of India |
| Hasnabad | None | Gautam Deb | Communist Party of India |
| Haroa | SC | Kshiti Ranjan Mondal | Communist Party of India |
| Sandeshkhali | SC | Kanti Biswas | Communist Party of India |
| Hingalganj | SC | Nripen Gayen | Communist Party of India |
| Gosaba | SC | Ganesh Mondal | Revolutionary Socialist Party |
| Basanti | SC | Subhas Naskar | Revolutionary Socialist Party |
| Kultali | SC | Prabod Purkait | Independent |
| Joynagar | None | Deba Prasad Sarkar | Independent |
| Baruipur | None | Sovandeb Chattopadhyay | Indian National Congress |
| Canning West | SC | Bimal Mistry | Communist Party of India |
| Canning East | None | Abdur Razzak Molla | Communist Party of India |
| Bhangar | None | Badal Zamadar | Communist Party of India |
| Jadavpur | None | Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee | Communist Party of India |
| Sonarpur | SC | Bhadreswar Mondal | Communist Party of India |
| Bishnupur East | SC | Ananda Kumar Biswas | Communist Party of India |
| Bishnupur West | None | Sankar Saran Naskar | Communist Party of India |
| Behala East | None | Kumkum Chakraborti | Communist Party of India |
| Behala West | None | Nirmal Mukherjee | Communist Party of India |
| Garden Reach | None | Mohammed Amin | Communist Party of India |
| Maheshtala | None | Mursalin Molla | Communist Party of India |
| Budge Budge | None | Ashok Kumar Deb | Indian National Congress |
| Satgachia | None | Jyoti Basu | Communist Party of India |
| Falta | None | Sudhir Bhattacharjee | Indian National Congress |
| Diamond Harbour | None | Sheikh Daulat Ali | Indian National Congress |
| Magrahat West | None | Abul Basar Laskar | Indian National Congress |
| Magrahat East | SC | Nirmal Sinha | Communist Party of India |
| Mandirbazar | SC | Nikunja Paik | Communist Party of India |
| Mathurapur | None | Satya Ranjan Bapuli | Indian National Congress |
| Kulpi | SC | Sakuntala Paik | Communist Party of India |
| Patharpratima | None | Gopal Krishna Dey | Indian National Congress |
| Kakdwip | None | Ashok Giri | Communist Party of India |
| Sagar | None | Prabhanjan Mondal | Communist Party of India |
| Bijpur | None | Kamal Sengupta Basu | Communist Party of India |
| Naihati | None | Ranjit Kundu | Communist Party of India |
| Bhatpara | None | Bidyut Ganguli | Communist Party of India |
| Jagatdal | None | Anay Gopal Sinha | Indian National Congress |
| Noapara | None | Madan Mohan Nath | Communist Party of India |
| Titagarh | None | Prabin Kumar Shaw | Communist Party of India |
| Khardah | None | Dr. Ashim Kumar Dasgupta | Communist Party of India |
| Panihati | None | Nirmal Ghosh | Indian National Congress |
| Kamarhati | None | Shanti Ghatak | Communist Party of India |
| Baranagar | None | Amar Choudhury | Revolutionary Socialist Party |
| Dum Dum | None | Sankar Sen | Communist Party of India |
| Belgachia East | None | Subhas Chakraborty | Communist Party of India |
| Cossipur | None | Tarak Bandyopadhyay | Indian National Congress |
| Shyampukur | None | Santi Ranjan Ganguly | All India Forward Bloc |
| Jorabagan | None | Sanjoy Bakshi | Indian National Congress |
| Jorasanko | None | Deokinandan Poddar | Indian National Congress |
| Bara Bazar | None | Rajesh Khaitan | Indian National Congress |
| Bow Bazar | None | Sudip Bandyopadhyay | Indian National Congress |
| Chowringhee | None | Subarata Mukherjee | Indian National Congress |
| Kabitirtha | None | Ram Pyare Ram | Indian National Congress |
| Alipore | None | Saugata Roy | Indian National Congress |
| Rashbehari Avenue | None | Hoimi Basu | Indian National Congress |
| Tollygunge | None | Pankaj Banerjee | Indian National Congress |
| Dhakuria | None | Kshiti Goswami | Revolutionary Socialist Party |
| Ballygunge | None | Rabin Deb | Communist Party of India |
| Entally | None | Sultan Ahmed | Indian National Congress |
| Taltola | SC | Tapati Saha | Communist Party of India |
| Beliaghata | None | Manabendra Mukherjee | Communist Party of India |
| Sealdah | None | Somendra Nath Mitra | Indian National Congress |
| Vidyasagar | None | Tapas Roy | Indian National Congress |
| Burtola | None | Sadhan Pande | Indian National Congress |
| Manicktola | None | Paresh Paul | Indian National Congress |
| Belgachia West | None | Rajdeo Goala | Communist Party of India |
| Bally | None | Kanika Ganguly | Communist Party of India |
| Howrah North | None | Lagan Deo Singh | Communist Party of India |
| Howrah Central | None | Ambica Banerjee | Indian National Congress |
| Howrah South | None | Pralay Talukdar | Communist Party of India |
| Shibpur | None | Jatu Lahiri | Indian National Congress |
| Domjur | None | Padmanidhi Dhar | Communist Party of India |
| Jagatballavpur | None | M. Ansaruddin | Communist Party of India |
| Panchla | None | Gulsan Mullick | Indian National Congress |
| Sankrail | SC | Sital Kumar Sardar | Indian National Congress |
| Uluberia North | SC | Ramjanam Majhi | Indian National Congress |
| Uluberia South | None | Ghose Rabindra | All India Forward Bloc |
| Shyampur | None | Sanjib Kumar Das | Indian National Congress |
| Bagnan | None | Sabuj Dutta | Indian National Congress |
| Kalyanpur | None | Asit Mitra | Indian National Congress |
| Amta | None | Pratyush Mukherjee | Communist Party of India |
| Udaynarayanpur | None | Nanigopal Chowdhury | Communist Party of India |
| Jangipara | None | Ibha Dey | Communist Party of India |
| Chanditala | None | Akbor Ali Khandoker | Indian National Congress |
| Uttarpara | None | Jyoti Krishna Chattapadhyay | Communist Party of India |
| Serampore | None | Jyoti Chowdhury | Indian National Congress |
| Champdani | None | Abdul Mannan | Indian National Congress |
| Chandernagore | None | Kamal Mukherjee | Indian National Congress |
| Singur | None | Das Bidyut Kumar | Communist Party of India |
| Haripal | None | Kali Prasad Biswas | Communist Party of India |
| Tarakeswar | None | Pratim Chatterjee | Communist Party of India |
| Chinsurah | None | Naren Dey | All India Forward Bloc |
| Bansberia | None | Robin Mukherjee | Indian National Congress |
| Balagarh | SC | Dibakanta Routh | Communist Party of India |
| Pandua | None | Ali Sk. Majed | Communist Party of India |
| Polba | None | Saktipada Khanra | Communist Party of India |
| Dhaniakhali | SC | Kripasindhu Saha | All India Forward Bloc |
| Pursurah | None | Nimai Mal | Communist Party of India |
| Khanakul | SC | Banshi Badan Maitra | Communist Party of India |
| Arambagh | None | Binoy Datta | Communist Party of India |
| Goghat | SC | Shiba Prasad Malick | All India Forward Bloc |
| Chandrakona | None | Gurupada Dutta | Communist Party of India |
| Ghatal | SC | Ratan Pakhira | Communist Party of India |
| Daspur | None | Mukhopadhaya Chitta Ranjan | Communist Party of India |
| Nandanpur | None | Chhaya Bera | Communist Party of India |
| Panskura West | None | Chitta Ranjan Das Thakur | Communist Party of India |
| Panskura East | None | Biplab Ray Chowdhury | Indian National Congress |
| Tamluk | None | Anil Mudi | Indian National Congress |
| Moyna | None | Dipak Bera | Communist Party of India |
| Mahishadal | None | Sukumar Das | Indian National Congress |
| Sutahata | SC | Tushar Kanti Mandal | Indian National Congress |
| Nandigram | None | Debisankar Panda | Indian National Congress |
| Narghat | None | Brahmamoy Nanda | Communist Party of India |
| Bhagabanpur | None | Khanra Ajit | Indian National Congress |
| Khajuri | SC | Mondal Ramchandra | Communist Party of India |
| Contai North | None | Chakradhar Maikap | Communist Party of India |
| Contai South | None | Sailaja Kumar Das | Indian National Congress |
| Ramnagar | None | Mrinal Kanti Roy | Communist Party of India |
| Egra | None | Prabodh Chandra Sinha | Communist Party of India |
| Mugberia | None | Kiranmoy Nanda | Communist Party of India |
| Pataspur | None | Kamakhya Nandan Das Mahapatra | Communist Party of India |
| Sabang | None | Bangal Makhanlal | Independent |
| Pingla | None | Ram Pada Samanta | Communist Party of India |
| Debra | None | Sk. Jahangir Karim | Communist Party of India |
| Keshpur | SC | Nandarani Dal | Communist Party of India |
| Garhbeta East | None | Susanta Ghosh | Communist Party of India |
| Garhbeta West | SC | Krishnaprasad Duley | Communist Party of India |
| Salbani | None | Khagendra Nath Mahato | Communist Party of India |
| Midnapore | None | Purnendu Sengupta | Communist Party of India |
| Kharagpur Town | None | Gyan Singh Sohanpal | Indian National Congress |
| Kharagpur Rural | None | Haque Nazmul | Communist Party of India |
| Keshiari | ST | Maheswar Murmu | Communist Party of India |
| Narayangarh | None | Surjya Kanta Mishra | Communist Party of India |
| Dantan | None | Nanda Gopal Bhattacharjee | Communist Party of India |
| Nayagram | ST | Subhas Chandra Saren | Communist Party of India |
| Gopiballavpur | None | Rana Sakti | Communist Party of India |
| Jhargram | None | Buddhadev Bhakat | Communist Party of India |
| Binpur | ST | Naren Hansda | Jharkhand Party |
| Banduan | ST | Lakhiram Kisku | Communist Party of India |
| Manbazar | None | Kamala Kanta Mahata | Communist Party of India |
| Balrampur | ST | Bhandu Majhi | Communist Party of India |
| Arsa | None | Nishi Kanta Mehta | All India Forward Bloc |
| Jhalda | None | Satya Ranjan Mahato | All India Forward Bloc |
| Jaipur | None | Shantiram Mahato | Indian National Congress |
| Purulia | None | Mamata Mukherjee | Communist Party of India |
| Para | SC | Bilasi Bala Sahis | Communist Party of India |
| Raghunathpur | SC | Natabar Bagdi | Communist Party of India |
| Kashipur | ST | Rabindranath Hembram | Communist Party of India |
| Hura | None | Abinas Mahato | Communist Party of India |
| Taldangra | None | Manoranjan Patra | Communist Party of India |
| Raipur | ST | Upen Kisku | Communist Party of India |
| Ranibandh | ST | Deblina Hembram | Communist Party of India |
| Indpur | SC | Kirity Bagdi | Communist Party of India |
| Chhatna | None | Subhas Goswami | Revolutionary Socialist Party |
| Gangajalghati | SC | Angad Bauri | Communist Party of India |
| Barjora | None | Susmita Biswas | Communist Party of India |
| Bankura | None | Partha De | Communist Party of India |
| Onda | None | Anil Mukherjee | All India Forward Bloc |
| Vishnupur | None | Jayanta Chowdhury | Communist Party of India |
| Kotulpur | None | Gouripada Dutta | Communist Party of India |
| Indas | SC | Nandadulal Majhi | Communist Party of India |
| Sonamukhi | SC | Haradhan Bauri | Communist Party of India |
| Kulti | None | Acharyya Maniklal | All India Forward Bloc |
| Barabani | None | Manik Upadhyay | Indian National Congress |
| Hirapur | None | Shyamadas Banerjee | Indian National Congress |
| Asansol | None | Tapas Banerjee | Indian National Congress |
| Raniganj | None | Bansha Gopal Chowdhury | Communist Party of India |
| Jamuria | None | Pelab Kabi | Communist Party of India |
| Ukhra | SC | Bagdi Lakhan | Communist Party of India |
| Durgapur-i | None | Mrinal Banerjee | Communist Party of India |
| Durgapur-ii | None | Debabrata Benerjee | Communist Party of India |
| Kanksa | SC | Ankura Saresh | Communist Party of India |
| Ausgram | SC | Kartick Chandra Bag | Communist Party of India |
| Bhatar | None | Subhas Mondal | Communist Party of India |
| Galsi | None | Idrish Mondal | All India Forward Bloc |
| Burdwan North | None | Nisith Adhikary | Communist Party of India |
| Burdwan South | None | Shyamaprosad Bose | Communist Party of India |
| Khandaghosh | SC | Dalui Shibaprasad | Communist Party of India |
| Raina | None | Shyamaprosad Pal | Communist Party of India |
| Jamalpur | SC | Samar Hazra | Communist Party of India |
| Memari | None | Tapas Chattopadhyay | Communist Party of India |
| Kalna | None | Anju Kar | Communist Party of India |
| Nadanghat | None | Biren Ghosh | Communist Party of India |
| Manteswar | None | Abu Ayesh Mondal | Communist Party of India |
| Purbasthali | None | Dutta Himangshu | Communist Party of India |
| Katwa | None | Rabindra Nath Chatterjee | Indian National Congress |
| Mangalkot | None | Sadhana Mallik | Communist Party of India |
| Ketugram | SC | Majhi Tamal | Communist Party of India |
| Nanur | SC | Anandagopal Das | Communist Party of India |
| Bolpur | None | Tapan Hore | Revolutionary Socialist Party |
| Labhpur | None | Manik Chandra Mondal | Communist Party of India |
| Dubrajpur | None | Bhakti Bhusan Mondal | All India Forward Bloc |
| Rajnagar | SC | Bijoy Bagdi | All India Forward Bloc |
| Suri | None | Suniti Chattaraj | Indian National Congress |
| Mahammad Bazar | None | Dhiren Sen | Communist Party of India |
| Mayureswar | SC | Dhiren Let | Communist Party of India |
| Rampurhat | None | Mahammad Hannan | All India Forward Bloc |
| Hansan | SC | Asit Kumar Mal | Indian National Congress |
| Nalhati | None | Kalimuddin Shams | All India Forward Bloc |
| Murarai | None | Motahar Hossain | Indian National Congress |

## Aftermath

The Congress lost power in the general elections to the BJP, however BJP was unable to obtain majority in the Parliament on its own. Jyoti Basu, who had been re-elected as CM for a record 5th time, was offered the post of Prime Minister by both the Congress & the Janata Dal following the resignation of BJP's Atal Bihari Vajpayee within 13 days of assuming power due to lack of numbers in the Lok Sabha, lack of a consensual prime-ministerial candidate in the Congress & V. P. Singh refusing to become prime minister again. However CPI(M)'s highest decision-making body refused this offer, believing that if it accepted Basu's prime-ministership, then due to lack of numbers in the Lok Sabha, it would have to bend to the will of the Congress, which it saw as a bourgeois organisation. Jyoti Basu later remarked that this decision of the CPI(M) was a "historic blunder". Thus being denied prime-ministership, Basu put forward the name of Janata Dal leader & Karnataka CM H. D. Deve Gowda as the prime-ministerial candidate, which was accepted by the Congress, Janata-Dal, Left Front & other parties allied with them. Deve Gowda resigned after a year due to withdrawal of Congress' support & was succeeded by his Minister of External Affairs, Janata Dal leader Inder Kumar Gujral. Gujral resigned a year later, due to split in the Janata Dal caused by Lalu Prasad Yadav's expulsion due to his involvement in the fodder scam & the Congress withdrawing its support due to Gujral's refusal to expel DMK from the government, whose leader M. Karunanidhi had been implicated in assisting Rajiv Gandhi's murder in Jain Commission's report.
In January 1998, following disagreements with both AICC President Sitaram Kesri & state PCC president Somen Mitra over the Congress party's approach towards the Left Front, Mamata Banerjee left the Congress & formed her own party, consisting mostly of the supporters of Siddhartha Shankar Ray. Her party, in alliance with BJP, won 7 seats from the state in the general elections held on February that year, while the Congress retained only one seat & lost 7 others from the state. Somen Mitra resigned as the state PCC chief after this debacle & was succeeded by A. B. A. Ghani Khan Choudhury, the lone Congress MP from the state.