The BJP’s attempt to shed its ‘bohiragutu’ (outsider) label, its success in stoking fear of illegal immigrants, and its campaign that avoided personal comments on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, even while highlighting mismanagement, succeeded in West Bengal, giving the party its first-ever electoral success in the state, party leaders said.
Till around 8pm, the BJP had won 113 assembly seats and was leading in the state’s 93 assembly seats – ensuring that the state that birthed Syama Prasad Mukherjee, the founder of the BJP’s predecessor – the Jana Sangh, will have its first BJP chief minister.
The above leaders also credited their victory to the party’s local campaign, which used slogans like ‘Joy Ma Kali’ and ‘Joy Ma Durga’ instead of ‘Joy Shree Ram’ and focused on stall level management.
“The lotus flower is blooming in West Bengal! The 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections will be remembered forever. People power has prevailed and BJP’s good governance policy has triumphed. I bow down to every person in West Bengal. The people have given a wonderful mandate to the BJP and I assure them that our party will do everything in its power to fulfill the dreams and aspirations of the people of West Bengal. We will provide a government that ensures opportunities and dignity to all sections of society,” X.
Monday’s victory means the BJP has strengthened its grip on eastern India, with the exception of Jharkhand. Odisha and Bihar have BJP party resolutions (a first for them) and now Bengal will have its own. “We have succeeded in dismantling the opposition’s narrative that the BJP is a force in the Hindi-speaking belt and our ideology, based on the premise of nation first, has limited appeal. Mamata Banerjee’s loss is not just limited to the state, it is a message to the India assembly as well,” said a senior party leader, speaking on condition of anonymity.
According to several senior leaders involved in the BJP campaign, the party changed its tactics after its loss in 2021 to establish itself as a local entity. This time, the BJP has selected state leaders to lead the campaign on the ground, with key strategists like Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav and national general secretary Sunil Bansal behind the scenes.
After the election of veteran BJP leader Samik Bhattacharya as state president, the party sought to bridge the gap with old members who had felt marginalized over the years.
“Many old members were brought back and all of them worked in the party this time. Some like Ritesh Tiwari, got tickets and others got some other posts in the party,” another senior leader said. Tiwari won in Kashipur, Belgashia, by a margin of 1,651 votes.
The main focus of the campaign was on the threat from “guspathia“Or illegal settlers. All have emphasized the fear of karyakarta (volunteers) in the slightest to the chief minister. Thus, the BJP has pushed the incumbent to overlook the dangers of porous borders for the sake of votes,” said a third senior leader.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who oversaw every minute detail of the strategy and campaign, and was in the state for at least two weeks, turned his guns on the state government for not allowing border fencing.
Addressing several rallies, he declared that the BJP would not allow India to become a “dharamshala” (shelter) and would “detect, delete and deport” all illegal settlers.
Instead of directly attacking Banerjee at the rallies, the Prime Minister referred to the TMC-led government as “Nirmam Sarkar”, and highlighted crimes against women, such as the rape and murder of a medical student at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, the rape at a law college in Kasba, and attacks on women in Sandeshkhali, which leaders said helped fuel anti-incumbency sentiment.
“Do you remember the ‘Diddi or Didi’ sarcastic tone that Modi used many times to attack Mamata Banerjee during his campaigns ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections? You did not hear a single such comment this time. Personal attacks against the sitting Prime Minister are completely missing,” said Rabindranath Bhattacharya, former political science professor at Burdwan University.
“Political observers were confident that the TMC would benefit from the controversy over the SIR. But the BJP was able to control the narrative… We said that these are names of either illegal settlers or deceased. There may have been some exceptions, but this was largely an exercise by the Election Commission to clean electoral rolls,” a fourth senior leader of the party said, referring to the 9.1 million deletions under the SIR.
The party machinery also built on resentment against administrative lapses, infrastructure, employment gaps, and law and order, strengthening working-class support.
He presented the party’s statement.Bhuruchar Shobuth“(The Trust Department) focuses on issues of immediate concern and balances regional aspirations. “We promised $3,000 for women, unemployed graduates, implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission – all these are issues that resonate with people. “There is something for everyone from students to farmers and those who want Bengal to shake off its communist vestiges and grow into a bustling economy,” said the first leader quoted above.
The monthly cash incentive was used to shrink the TMC’s women’s vote base and promise to launch the Ayushman Bharat scheme, which guarantees free healthcare up to $5 lakh per family, addressed Swath Sathi Health insurance system.
One of the TMC’s biggest strengths has been the welfare schemes, many of which include cash grants, which the state administration has launched over the years – Lakshmir Bhandarwidow’s pension, and Krishak Bandhu. The BJP, in its 2021 campaign, criticized the schemes but did not come up with any alternatives leading to TMC claiming that the BJP will stop the schemes if it comes to power.
“But this time, the party confronted the TMC by promising different schemes if it comes to power with double benefits. While the TMC gives $1,500 for women under Lakshmir BhandarThe BJP promised $3000 under it Matrishakti Barosa Card,” said a fifth senior BJP leader.
Unlike the last elections, the BJP worked on booth level management. “The key to victory lies in the booths. The formula is hidden in the booths. This is the golden opportunity to form the government in West Bengal,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in the virtual meeting on April 14.
Party leaders said the booth-level analysis has identified around 180 seats where the party will battle. This is in addition to the strongholds in North Bengal and the tribal areas.
Biswanath Chakraborty, a political commentator, said the BJP was able to highlight corruption and focus on very local issues. “Even in its manifesto, the BJP promised on several local issues like clearing DA dues to government employees and improving infrastructure in the areas. The BJP has come up with an action plan against the TMC,” he added.
Winning in Bengal was necessary for the party to prove that its ideology was not a curse on the people of the state; It was necessary to demonstrate his ability to displace the regional satrap and prove the weight of his electoral skills and narrative building.
The second party leader quoted above said: “The sign of buhirajutu (outsider) was a handicap…even if it was fallacy. The founder of the Jana Sangh, Seema Prasad Mukherjee, was a son of Bengal. The state is the land of Shakti (Goddess) and cultural richness which is keenly Bharatiya. So, how can a party that embraces all this become an outsider?”
“This historic victory for the BJP in Bengal is the result of the sacrifices, struggles and martyrdom of countless of our workers. It is a victory for the patience of those families who, even as they endured violence, never abandoned the saffron flag,” Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, addressing a function in New Delhi to celebrate the election result.
“In this arduous journey of the BJP from zero to today’s resounding majority, I bow to all those workers who laid down their lives, endured violence, suffered torture, and yet were never wavered by ideology – and to their families. The people of Bengal have paid tribute to all these martyred workers of the BJP with this resounding majority…,” he added.
