Priyankasingh at 13:08, 10 January 2026

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{{Short description|Local village body elections in India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name = 2023 West Bengal Panchayat elections
| type = legislative
| country = India
| ongoing = no
| previous_election =
| previous_year = [[2018 West Bengal local elections|2018]]
| election_date = 8 July 2023
| next_election =
| next_year = ''2028''
| turnout = 80.71% ({{decrease}}1.46 [[Percentage point|pp]])<ref>https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/2023-panchayat-elections-record-80-71-per-cent-turnout-with-14-per-cent-votes-cast-before-5pm/cid/1950932#:~:text=West%20Bengal%20Panchayat%20Elections,cast%20before%205pm%20%2D%20Telegraph%20India</ref>
| image1 = [[File:All India Trinamool Congress symbol 2021.svg|100px]]
| party1 = All India Trinamool Congress
| image2 = [[File:Lotus flower symbol.svg|100px]]
| party2 = Bharatiya Janata Party
| image3 = [[File:CPIM election symbol.png|100px]]
| party3 = Communist Party of India (Marxist)
| image4 = [[File:Hand INC.svg|100px]]
| party4 = Indian National Congress
| seats_for_election = 63,229 [[Gram Panchayat]]<br />9,730 [[Panchayat Samiti]]<br />928 [[District Councils of India|Zilla Parishad]]
| image5 = [[File:Indian_Election_Symbol_Envelope.jpg|100px]]
| party5 = Indian Secular Front
| leader1 = [[Mamata Banerjee]]
| leader2 = [[Sukanta Majumdar]]
| leader3 = [[Mohammed Salim (politician)|Mohammed Salim]]
| leader4 = [[Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury]]
| leader5 = [[Nawsad Siddique]]
| leader_since1 = 5 June 2021
| leader_since3 = 16 March 2022
| leader_since2 = 20 September
2021
| leader_since4 = 20 September 2021
| leader_since5 = 21 January 2021
| 1blank = Gram Panchayat
| 2blank = Panchayat Samiti
| 3blank = Zilla Parishad
| 1data1 = 44,105
| 1data2 = 9,990
| 1data3 = 3,242
| 1data4 = 2,680
| 1data5 = 543
| 2data1 = 7,855
| 2data2 = 1,074
| 2data3 = 196
| 2data4 = 293
| 2data5 = 0
| 3data1 = 879
| 3data2 = 31
| 3data3 = 2
| 3data4 = 14
| 3data5 = 1
| swing5 = ''New''
| popular_vote1 = 51%
| swing1 = {{decrease}}21%
| swing2 = {{increase}}10%
| popular_vote3 = 14%
| swing3 = {{increase}}8%
| swing4 = {{increase}}2%
| popular_vote4 = 7%
| popular_vote5 = 2%
| popular_vote2 = 23%
}}

[[Panchayati raj in India|Panchayat]] elections were held in the Indian state of [[West Bengal]] in July 2023.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/bengal-panchayat-polls-to-be-held-on-july-8-sec-rajiva-sinha/cid/1943437|title=Bengal panchayat polls to be held on July 8: SEC Rajiva Sinha|access-date=2023-06-08}}</ref> It was held by the [[West Bengal State Election Commission]]. The results were announced on 11 July 2023.

==Schedule==
The election schedule was announced by the State Election Commission of West Bengal on 8 June 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-08 |title=Bengal Panchayat Election 2023: Voting On July 8, Nomination Begins From June 9 {{!}} Check Full Schedule|url=https://www.india.com/west-bengal/bengal-panchayat-election-2023-dates-announced-voting-results-nomination-full-schedule-west-bengal-panchayat-poll-6098644/|access-date=2023-06-19 |website=India.com |language=en}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Poll Event
! Schedule
|-
| Notification Date
| 9 June 2023
|-
| Last Date for filing nomination
| 15 June 2023
|-
| Last Date for Withdrawal of nomination
| 20 June 2023
|-
| Date of Poll
| '''8 July 2023'''
|-
| Date of Counting of Votes
| 11 July 2023
|}

==Parties and alliances==
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="3" |Party
! Symbol
! Alliance
|-
|{{party color cell|Trinamool Congress}}
|[[Trinamool Congress]]
|style="text-align:center"|AITC
|[[File:All India Trinamool Congress symbol 2021.svg|50px|centre]]
|
|-
| {{party color cell|Bharatiya Janata Party}}
|[[Bharatiya Janata Party]]
| style="text-align:center" |BJP
|[[File:Lotus flower symbol.svg|40x40px|centre]]
|
|-
| {{party color cell|Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}
|[[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]]
|style="text-align:center"|CPI(M)
|[[File:CPIM election symbol.png|60px|centre]]
| rowspan="7" | [[Sanjukta Morcha]]
|-
| {{party color cell|Indian National Congress}}
|[[Indian National Congress]]
| style="text-align:center" |INC
|[[File:Hand INC.svg|50px|centre]]
|-
| {{party color cell|All India Forward Bloc}}
|[[All India Forward Bloc]]
|style="text-align:center"|AIFB
|[[File:Indian Election Symbol Lion.svg|50px|centre]]
|-
| {{party color cell|Revolutionary Socialist Party (India)}}
|[[Revolutionary Socialist Party (India)|Revolutionary Socialist Party]]
|style="text-align:center"|RSP
|[[File:Indian Election Symbol Spade and Stoker.png|50px|centre]]
|-
| {{party color cell|Communist Party of India}}
|[[Communist Party of India]]
|style="text-align:center"|CPI
|[[File:CPI symbol.svg|50px|centre]]
|-
| {{party color cell|Indian Secular Front}}
|[[Indian Secular Front]]
| style="text-align:center" |ISF
|[[File:Indian Election Symbol Envelope.jpg|50px|centre]]
|-
| {{party color cell|Nationalist Congress Party}}
|[[Nationalist Congress Party]]
|style="text-align:center"|NCP
|[[File:Nationalist Congress Party Election Symbol.png|50x50px|centre]]
|-
| {{party color cell|Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation}}
|[[Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation]]
| style="text-align:center" |CPI(ML)L
|[[File:Flag Logo of CPIML.png|50x50 px|centre]]
|
|-
| {{party color cell|Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist)}}
|[[Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist)]]
|SUCI(C)
|[[File:SUCI_flag.svg|50x50 px|centre]]
|
|}

==Turnout==
80.71 percent of the total voters exercised their franchise in the three-tier [[Panchayati raj|panchayat]] elections, according to the [[West Bengal State Election Commission]].<ref name="Hindu">{{cite news |title=West Bengal panchayat polls {{!}} Repolling in 696 booths on July 10; death toll rises to 18 |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/west-bengal-panchayat-poll-violence-death-toll-rises/article67060347.ece |work=The Hindu |date=9 July 2023 |language=en-IN}}</ref> The re-poll in 600 booths where voting had to be suspended due to violence is scheduled to be held on 10 July 2023.<ref name="Hindu"/>

==Violence==
{{main|2023 West Bengal local elections violence}}
Between 8 June and 16 July 2023 a total of 55 people died due to panchayat poll violence in the state.

On 8 July 2023, 12 persons died due to election-day violence. On 9 July 2023, six more deaths were reported,<ref name="Hindu"/> increasing the death toll to 18 on the election day. The dead included 10 [[Trinamool Congress]] supporters, four from the [[Indian National Congress]], two from the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] and two from the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]].<ref name="Hindu"/>

On 11 July 2023, result day late night in Bhangar, South 24 parganas there were gunshots and huge bombings killing 3.

"Murder of democracy in West Bengal under the TMC govt. Over 60 dead & 100s injured in the local body elections. Strongly condemn. Strengthen popular resistance to save democracy in Bengal & in India," said Sitaram Yechury, National Secretary, Communist Party of India (Marxist), condemning the alleged rigging in elections by the ruling party.

==Results==
===Partywise===
{{Pie chart|thumb=right|value1=51|value2=23|value3=14|value4=7|value5=1|value6=4|color1=#20C646|color2=#FF9933|color3=#CC0D0D|color4=#00BBFF|color5=#000180|color6=grey|caption='''Vote share by Party'''|label1=[[Trinamool Congress|AITC]]|label2=[[Bharatiya Janata Party|BJP]]|label3=[[Left Front (West Bengal)|LF]]|label4=[[Indian National Congress|INC]]|label5=[[Indian Secular Front|ISF]]|label6=Others}}
{{Pie chart|thumb=right|value1=51|value2=23.02|value3=22.92|value4=4|color1=#20C646|color3=#CC0D0D|color2=#FF9933|color4=grey|caption='''Vote share by Alliance'''|label1=[[Trinamool Congress|AITC]]|label3=[[Secular Democratic Alliance|Sanjukta Morcha]]{{efn|name=political party|inc. [[Left Front (West Bengal)|Left Front]], [[Indian National Congress|INC]], [[Indian Secular Front|ISF]], [[Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist)|SUCI(C)]], [[Nationalist Congress Party|NCP]] and [[Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist)|CPI (ML)]]}}|label2=[[Bharatiya Janata Party|BJP]]|label4=Others}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+
! colspan="2" |Political parties
!Popular votes
!% of votes
!'''Gram Panchayat'''
!'''Panchayat Samiti'''
!'''Zilla Parishad'''
|-
|{{party color cell|Trinamool Congress}}
|[[Trinamool Congress]]
|20,942,380
|51.14%
|35,606
|6,560
|877
|-
|{{party color cell|Bharatiya Janata Party}}
|[[Bharatiya Janata Party]]
|9,467,540
|22.92%
|9,990
|1,044
|31
|-
|{{party color cell|Sanjukta Morcha}}
|[[Secular Democratic Alliance|Sanjukta Morcha]]{{efn|name=political party|inc. [[Left Front (West Bengal)|Left Front]], [[Indian National Congress|INC]], [[Indian Secular Front|ISF]], [[Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist)|SUCI(C)]], [[Nationalist Congress Party|NCP]] and [[Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist)|CPI (ML)]]}}
|9,565,359
|23.02%
|6,822
|459
|17
|-
|{{party color cell|Independent}}
|Others
|1,081,673
|2.84%
|2,972
|301
|1
|}

===Zilla Parishad wise===
Corporation Election Data Published by State [[Election Commission of India|Election Commission]] of [[West Bengal]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://portal.wbsec.org/|title=State Election Commission WB}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan=4 align="Centre" |No.
! rowspan=4 align="Centre" |Zilla Parishad
! rowspan=4 align="Centre" |Total Seats
|{{party color cell|Trinamool Congress}}
|{{party color cell|Bharatiya Janata Party}}
|colspan="3" {{party color cell|Sanjukta Morcha}}
|{{party color cell|Independent}}
|-
!rowspan=3|[[Trinamool Congress|AITC]]
!rowspan=3|[[Bharatiya Janata Party|BJP]]
!colspan="3"|[[Secular Democratic Alliance|Sanjukta Morcha]]
!rowspan=3|Others
|-
|{{party color cell|Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}
|{{party color cell|Indian National Congress}}
|{{party color cell|Indian Secular Front}}
|-
![[Communist Party of India (Marxist)|CPI(M)]]
![[Indian National Congress|INC]]
![[Indian Secular Front|ISF]]
|-
!1
|Cooch Behar
|'''34'''
|32
|2
|colspan=3|0
|0
|-
!2
|Alipurduar
|'''18'''
|18
|0
|colspan=3|0
|0
|-
!3
|Jalpaiguri
|'''24'''
|24
|0
|colspan=3|0
|0
|-
!4
|Uttar Dinajpur
|'''26'''
|23
|0
|0
|3
|0
|0
|-
!5
|Dakshin Dinajpur
|'''21'''
|21
|0
|colspan=3|0
|0
|-
!6
|Malda
|'''43'''
|34
|4
|0
|5
|0
|0
|-
!7
|Murshidabad
|'''78'''
|71
|0
|2
|5
|0
|0
|-
!8
|Nadia
|'''52'''
|46
|6
|colspan=3|0
|0
|-
!9
|North 24 Parganas
|'''66'''
|66
|0
|colspan=3|0
|0
|-
!10
|South 24 Parganas
|'''85'''
|84
|0
|0
|0
|1
|0
|-
!11
|Howrah
|'''42'''
|42
|0
|colspan=3|0
|0
|-
!12
|Hooghly
|'''53'''
|51
|2
|colspan=3|0
|0
|-
!13
|Purba Bardhaman
|'''66'''
|66
|0
|colspan=3|0
|0
|-
!14
|Paschim Bardhaman
|'''18'''
|18
|0
|colspan=3|0
|0
|-
!15
|Birbhum
|'''52'''
|51
|0
|0
|1
|0
|0
|-
!16
|Purba Medinipur
|'''70'''
|56
|14
|colspan=3|0
|0
|-
!17
|Paschim Medinipur
|'''60'''
|60
|0
|colspan=3|0
|0
|-
!18
|Jhargram
|'''19'''
|19
|0
|colspan=3|0
|0
|-
!19
|Purulia
|'''45'''
|42
|2
|colspan=3|0
|1
|-
!20
|Bankura
|'''56'''
|55
|1
|colspan=3|0
|0
|-
! colspan=2 align=center style="background-color:#CDCDCD; color:black"|'''Total'''
! align=center style="background-color:#CDCDCD; color:black"|'''928'''
! align=center style="background-color:#20C646; color:black"|879
! align=center style="background-color:#FF9933; color:black"|31
! align=center style="background-color:#CC0D0D; color:white"|2
! align=center style="background-color:#00BFFF; color:black"|14
! align=center style="background-color:#000180; color:white"|1
! align=center style="background-color:#B2B2B2; color:black"|1
|}

== Analysis ==
The [[Trinamool Congress]] won a landslide victory in the panchayat election, winning 100 per cent of Zilla Parishads, 92 per cent Panchayat Samitis and 80 per cent Gram Panchayats.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-11 |title=West Bengal panchayat election results: TMC sweeps, BJP second. 10 updates |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/west-bengal-panchayat-election-result-2023-live-updates-counting-of-votes-tmc-bjp-left-cpim-congress-mamata-banerjee-101689033315836.html |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-11 |title=Bengal panchayat polls: TMC sweeps all but 2 hill dists; ISF impresses in stronghold |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/tmc-leads-in-every-dist-barring-hills-cong-cpm-hopes-dashed-8826548/ |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] secured a second position in these polls and performed well in North Bengal.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2023-07-13 |title=BJP loses Jangalmahal, north Bengal grounds in TMC wave, but Suvendu gets rural poll booster |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/bjp-loses-jangalmahal-north-bengal-tmc-suvendu-rural-poll-booster-8834252/ |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Sanjukta Morcha]] alliance came third in these local bodies elections.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Ghosh |first=Sayantan |date=2023-07-12 |title=Bengal Panchayat Polls: TMC Wins, But At What Cost? Many Cautionary Signs For Mamata Banerjee |url=https://news.abplive.com/blog/bengal-panchayat-poll-results-opinion-tmc-victory-under-widespread-violence-caution-for-mamata-banerjee-1615404 |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=news.abplive.com |language=en}}</ref> The [[Indian Secular Front|ISF]] especially performed well in the areas where it contested, winning almost 50% of the seats contested.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-14 |title=TMC’s worry: Not just Bhangar, Indian Secular Front picked up seats across Bengal districts |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/west-bengal-panchayat-elections-indian-secular-force-seats-8836202/ |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref> The [[Left Front (West Bengal)|Left Front]] and [[Indian National Congress|INC]] also performed well in the Muslim-dominated [[Malda division]].<ref name=":1" /> Most notably [[Left Front (West Bengal)|Left Front]] pushed [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] to third spot in the [[Burdwan division]] after a long time since 2016.

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{West Bengal elections}}

[[Category:2023 elections in India|West Bengal local elections]]
[[Category:Elections in West Bengal]]
[[Category:2020s in West Bengal]]
[[Category:May 2023 in India|West Bengal local elections]]
[[Category:Local elections in West Bengal]]
[[Category:Local government in West Bengal]]

2023 West Bengal local elections - Revision history

Priyankasingh at 13:08, 10 January 2026