The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to form its first-ever government in West Bengal, ending Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) 15-year rule in one of the most dramatic political shifts in the state’s recent history.
In a major personal and political setback for Banerjee, the Chief Minister also lost her Bhabanipur seat, a constituency central to her political rise since 2011, to former Trinamool leader-turned-BJP heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari, now Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly.
Adhikari’s victory in Bhabanipur, after having earlier defeated Banerjee in Nandigram in 2021, marks a defining moment in Bengal’s changing political scene.
From 294 Assembly seats, the BJP crossed the majority mark comfortably, winning 206 seats, while the TMC was reduced to 81, a sharp reversal for a party that had secured 215 seats in 2021.
The BJP’s victory was sweeping not only in numbers but also in geography.
While retaining its traditional gains in North Bengal, the party made major inroads into Trinamool strongholds across South Bengal, including Kolkata, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas, regions that had long remained central to TMC’s dominance.
For years, Bengal had remained one of the BJP’s most difficult electoral frontiers. This result changes that.
The victory also carries wider national significance for the BJP.
After Odisha in 2024 and a third consecutive win in Assam, Bengal’s fall gives the BJP unprecedented political dominance across much of eastern India, strengthening the party’s larger expansion since 2014 beyond its traditional Hindi heartland base.
With Bengal, the BJP will now have 17 Chief Ministers of its own, while the NDA tally rises to 22.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing party workers after the results, said “Bengal has been freed from fear and will now progress,” framing the mandate as both political change and a development vote.
Why Bengal shifted
Within BJP circles, the Bengal sweep is being linked to several converging factors.
Party insiders point to a swing among women voters, mobilisation of government employees through promises such as Seventh Pay Commission implementation, a direct Modi-versus-Mamata governance narrative, aggressive outreach to first-time voters, and large-scale deployment of Central Armed Police Forces.
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR), under which around 90 lakh voter names were reportedly deleted, also emerged as a major political flashpoint. While the BJP defended it as electoral correction, Banerjee described the outcome as “loot of seats.”
Bhabanipur’s fall
Bhabanipur’s loss may prove to be among the election’s most symbolic outcomes.
Banerjee had used the seat as a political base since defeating the Left Front in 2011 and retained it through subsequent elections and a bypoll. Its loss now represents not just a constituency defeat, but a serious blow to her political authority.
On counting day, Banerjee also alleged irregularities, claiming CCTV cameras were switched off and party agents were obstructed at the counting venue.
Who next?
With the BJP heading toward government formation, attention has shifted to leadership.
Suvendu Adhikari remains the strongest contender for Chief Minister, given his role in the BJP’s Bengal rise, though names such as state BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya, Dilip Ghosh and Swapan Dasgupta are also being discussed.
National impact
For the opposition INDIA bloc, Bengal’s verdict is likely to trigger major political introspection.
Banerjee had positioned herself as one of the BJP’s strongest national challengers. Her defeat, coupled with the BJP’s continued gains elsewhere, weakens not only Trinamool’s hold over Bengal but also Banerjee’s broader opposition stature.
Fifteen years after Mamata Banerjee ended the Left Front’s 34-year rule, Bengal has delivered another political turning point.
This time, it is the BJP that has redrawn the state’s political map.
