BJP gains ground across West Bengal as TMC loses support
The gains were not limited to one region. North Bengal is still a strong area for the BJP. But the party also won big in central and southern parts of the state, which were earlier strongholds of the TMC.
The lotus won big in West Bengal, taking 207 seats. Seat by seat, the pattern is consistent: the Bharatiya Janata Party gained ground in large parts of the state, while the Trinamool Congress saw its vote share fall almost everywhere. In at least 203 seats, the BJP added more than five percentage points to its previous vote share.
The gains were not limited to one region. North Bengal is still a strong area for the BJP. But the party also won big in central and southern parts of the state, which were earlier strongholds of the TMC.
Meanwhile, the TMC story is the reverse. The party that was in power for the last three consecutive terms lost vote share in a majority of constituencies. In several seats, the decline is sharp, exceeding 10 percentage points, and in some cases even 20.
The TMC increased its vote share in only about 20 seats. These seats are scattered, and not enough to make up for the losses across the state.
In several seats, the BJP saw very large jumps in vote share — more than 20 percentage points in seats like Jangipur and Jadavpur. The TMC recorded some of its biggest drops of more than 30 percentage points in Rejinagar, Nowda, and Jangipur.
When the two datasets are combined, it is clear that these two trends mirror each other. Where the BJP's vote share rose, the TMC's fell, meaning the BJP attracted not only fence sitters but also voters previously with the TMC. This has parallels to what the TMC did to the Left Front decades ago.