India, Dec. 7 -- With the West Bengal Assembly election just five months away, the BJP will enter the contest with a significant structural disadvantage rooted in the state's demographic map. Nearly 160 of the state's 294 Assembly seats fall in districts where Muslims constitute more than 25% of the population; areas where the BJP has historically struggled and where the Trinamool Congress remains dominant.

An analysis of Census 2011 district-level data shows that nine of West Bengal's 23 districts have a Muslim population share exceeding 25%, highlighting a clear demographic concentration across parts of central, northern and border Bengal. The districts crossing the 25% threshold are Murshidabad, Malda, Uttar Dinajpur, North 24 Pargana...