BJP in, Didi out. Saffron sweeps Bengal
The BJP has wrested Bengal from Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress. The saffron side, which has longed for the eastern state for years, is nearing 200 seats in a historic victory, marking the end of the TMC's 15-year reign.
In November last year, after the NDA's big Bihar win, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “The river Ganga flows to Bengal via Bihar". That metaphor set the tone for the 2026 West Bengal assembly election, sending a clear message to Mamata Banerjee. Five months on, the BJP captured the eastern state it had long targeted. The party is nearing 200 seats, while the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress trails well behind in double digits. The result marks a historic victory for the BJP and an end to the TMC’s 15-year rule.
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The exit polls gave an edge to the BJP. Five pollsters gave the saffron side between 146 and 192 seats. On the other hand, two of them forecast a return of Banerjee, giving the TMC 177–205 seats. She dismissed the exit polls, saying the TMC will win over 220 seats. Her party leaders echoed the confidence, citing the example of 2021 when Banerjee crushed the predictions.
However, this time, the numbers have turned out to be correct.
The results are significant. The BJP is ahead in North Bengal, which emerged as the party's stronghold in recent years. However, it also made significant inroads in several TMC bastions. In Medinipur, the BJP got the tribal votes. Then there's Burdwan, another TMC stronghold, where the saffron sweep is prevalent.
It is also the key urban pockets of Kolkata and Howrah that seem to have shaken up the TMC and swung the election to the BJP's favour. In Presidency regions too, the saffron tide is widespread. Malda, one of the many regions where voter deletions were rampant after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), is barely tilting to the TMC's side. In Bhabanipur, Mamata Banerjee's bastion in south Kolkta, the Bengal Chief Minister is comfortably ahead with more than 17,000 votes with over 10 rounds of counting remaining.
Commenting on the Bengal fight, BJP's state chief Samik Bhattacharya said on Sunday that this year has been an "election of rejection". "From teacher recruitment scams to unemployment, all factors are contributing to the TMC’s decline," he told indiatoday.tech over a phone call.
Mamata Banerjee's rise – from a tigress-like figure against the mighty Left, to dethroning them after 34 years, and being seen as a potential face against PM Modi – has been one for the books. But her 15-year-rule has allegedly been marked by scams and goon culture. The BJP pegged the campaigning ahead of the election to significant fear among people, catapulted by the RG Kar rape and murder in Kolkata.
Then there was Banerjee's alleged Muslim appeasement politics that the BJP claimed was hurting the Hindus in Bengal. The Trinamool Congress focused on the 'Bengali identity' and 'Bangla nijer meyekei chaye (Bengal wants its own daughter)' to evoke the cultural sentiment. They also focused on an alleged threat of a ban on non-vegeterian food, including fish, in the event of a BJP win. To quell the narrative, the saffron side sent their leaders to Bengal to eat fish on camera.
But it appears to be that the people of Bengal, of all anything, want change. A state that puts a significant focus on literature, culture, food and the classic 'cha-adda' wants change. The BJP claimed joblessness, intimidation, goon culture and scams have driven people to dismiss the TMC. While the TMC's narrative highlighted a supposed Hindi imposition in Bengal if the BJP win and celebrated the Bengali identity and culture.
Mamata Banerjee is still hopeful though. In a video message, she urged TMC workers to not be dejected as multiple more rounds of counting are left. "Don't lose hearts," she said.
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