Fort Presidency: How BJP flipped the script to end Mamata Banerjee's rule
From 14 in 2021 to 54 seats in Bengal's Presidency region, the BJP has flipped the script in Kolkata and surrounding areas and extended its reach beyond the tea garden districts, which have traditionally been its stronghold in North Bengal.
He wrote and sang the viral “Khela Hobe” anthem during the 2021 Bengal Assembly elections -- a slogan that resonated across party lines, from the BJP to the Trinamool Congress. Five years later, the TMC replaced sitting Chuchura MLA Asit Mazumdar with Debangshu Bhattacharya, banking on the song’s creator to deliver in Hooghly. But the gamble appears to have backfired. For the “Khela Hobe” singer, it is now “Khela Shesh” -- a sentiment that seems to echo for the party across the Presidency region and the state at large.
The equation was simple: if the BJP had to cross the halfway mark in the 294-member Assembly, it needed to breach the Trinamool Congress’s citadel in the Presidency region.
While the BJP has held on to its strongholds in North Bengal, such as Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri, it has also made significant inroads into areas that were earlier elusive, including the tribal-dominated Medinipur and particularly large swathes of the Presidency region, Kolkata and surrounding districts.
However, the TMC’s hold over the Presidency region appears to be slipping. The last time such a shift occurred under an incumbent government in Bengal, it marked the end of the Left’s over three-decade rule. The maximum erosion of the TMC has occurred in the Presidency area, where the BJP has surged from 14 to 54 seats, while the TMC’s tally there has more than halved to 51 compared to the last Assembly elections.
The largest of all regions, the Presidency region has 105 seats and comprises the riverine districts of Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, and North and South 24 Parganas. In the last election, the Trinamool Congress won 90 seats, while the BJP managed to secure only 14.
While the BJP is leading in Medinipur, which has a high concentration of STs and SCs, the saffron party is also ahead in Howrah Dakshin and Howrah Uttar in the Presidency region, while the TMC is leading in Howrah Madhya.
Apart from Howrah, the BJP is now leading in four seats in the Presidency region -- Shyampukur, Entally, Beleghata and Maniktala -- all in Kolkata.
A similar trend is visible in Dum Dum and Dum Dum North, where the BJP is ahead. The biggest surprise, however, is Diamond Harbour -- considered Abhishek Banerjee’s stronghold -- where BJP’s Dipak Kumar Haldar is leading.
The area had witnessed clashes during polling, and the adjoining Falta constituency is set for a repoll amid allegations of large-scale irregularities.
It appears that the Trinamool Congress’s khela may be over after all, as the BJP surges ahead in seats where it had earlier taken the lead while holding on to its North Bengal bastion.
A major battle is underway in Mamata Banerjee’s stronghold of Bhabanipur, in the heart of Kolkata, which is witnessing a see-saw contest with her bete noire, Suvendu Adhikari.
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He wrote and sang the viral “Khela Hobe” anthem during the 2021 Bengal Assembly elections -- a slogan that resonated across party lines, from the BJP to the Trinamool Congress. Five years later, the TMC replaced sitting Chuchura MLA Asit Mazumdar with Debangshu Bhattacharya, banking on the song’s creator to deliver in Hooghly. But the gamble appears to have backfired. For the “Khela Hobe” singer, it is now “Khela Shesh” -- a sentiment that seems to echo for the party across the Presidency region and the state at large.
The equation was simple: if the BJP had to cross the halfway mark in the 294-member Assembly, it needed to breach the Trinamool Congress’s citadel in the Presidency region.
While the BJP has held on to its strongholds in North Bengal, such as Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri, it has also made significant inroads into areas that were earlier elusive, including the tribal-dominated Medinipur and particularly large swathes of the Presidency region, Kolkata and surrounding districts.
However, the TMC’s hold over the Presidency region appears to be slipping. The last time such a shift occurred under an incumbent government in Bengal, it marked the end of the Left’s over three-decade rule. The maximum erosion of the TMC has occurred in the Presidency area, where the BJP has surged from 14 to 54 seats, while the TMC’s tally there has more than halved to 51 compared to the last Assembly elections.
The largest of all regions, the Presidency region has 105 seats and comprises the riverine districts of Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, and North and South 24 Parganas. In the last election, the Trinamool Congress won 90 seats, while the BJP managed to secure only 14.
While the BJP is leading in Medinipur, which has a high concentration of STs and SCs, the saffron party is also ahead in Howrah Dakshin and Howrah Uttar in the Presidency region, while the TMC is leading in Howrah Madhya.
Apart from Howrah, the BJP is now leading in four seats in the Presidency region -- Shyampukur, Entally, Beleghata and Maniktala -- all in Kolkata.
A similar trend is visible in Dum Dum and Dum Dum North, where the BJP is ahead. The biggest surprise, however, is Diamond Harbour -- considered Abhishek Banerjee’s stronghold -- where BJP’s Dipak Kumar Haldar is leading.
The area had witnessed clashes during polling, and the adjoining Falta constituency is set for a repoll amid allegations of large-scale irregularities.
It appears that the Trinamool Congress’s khela may be over after all, as the BJP surges ahead in seats where it had earlier taken the lead while holding on to its North Bengal bastion.
A major battle is underway in Mamata Banerjee’s stronghold of Bhabanipur, in the heart of Kolkata, which is witnessing a see-saw contest with her bete noire, Suvendu Adhikari.
Elections 2026 | West Bengal Election | West Bengal Election Constituencies | West Bengal Election Schedule
Tamil Nadu Election Result Live
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