The assembly elections in West Bengal significantly influence the future of India-Bangladesh relations. Policymakers in both New Delhi and Dhaka closely observed the electoral competition between the centre-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the All-India Trinamool Congress (AITC) led by Mamata Banerjee, which has been in power in West Bengal since 2011. Bilateral socio-economic ties, especially in economic cooperation and disaster management, strengthened under Bangladesh’s Awami League government, which came to power in 2009. Since then, migration, water distribution, terrorism, and radicalization have guided bilateral discourse and policy preferences. This paper tries to bring out the impact of West Bengal politics in Indo-Bangladesh relations. It mainly deals with the aftermath of state election 2021. It also argues the role played by the states that can often add value to foreign policy making and might actually prevent the centre from jeopardising local interests, thereby protecting national interests as well.