New Delhi, May 5 -- The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) closed in on the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Muslim-dominated districts of Murshidabad, Malda and Uttar Dinajpur, significantly narrowing the gap in the number of seats won in these areas in the 2026 election as compared to the 2021 polls.

The TMC maintained an overall lead over the BJP in the Muslim belt, winning 20 seats against the saffron party's 18 seats. The tally was, however, 15 less than the number of seats it had won in Murshidabad, Malda and Uttar Dinajpur in the 2021 West Bengal polls.

As per the Election Commission's data, the TMC lost 15 of the 35 seats it had won in the last assembly elections.

The BJP's number, meanwhile, significantly improved to 18 from the eight se...