India, March 24 -- In the runup to the assembly elections in April 2026, both the ruling and opposition parties seem to be arm-twisting with economic contradictions. The BJP has doled out the promise of "bringing jobs back." Its leaders, including the central ones, rebuke Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of giving doles to assuage the feelings of the people afflicted with massive industrial decline in the state. Yet, Niti Aayog's analysis, "Macro and Fiscal Landscape of the State of West Bengal (2025)," shows that the state's annual unemployment decelerated to 2.2 per cent in 2022-23, and remained below the national average (3.2 per cent) since 2017-18.

Mamata Banerjee, whose rise to power was based on her opposition to large industrial pr...