Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut believes one of the main reasons why Mamata Banerjee’s TMC lost the 2026 West Bengal elections was because it ignored the messages of Rahul Gandhi, who warned that the BJP was “stealing” the elections.
Rahul had earlier claimed that there was “vote theft” in at least 100 seats during the Lok Sabha elections, which helped the BJP retain power. He has also claimed that there was a similar ‘church vote’ in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana.
Raut feels that Mamata should have listened to Rahul and had discussions with him on how to prevent the BJP from coming to power in the state.
“Rahul Gandhi kept saying over and over again (about voting Chauri). This was a very big mistake on Mamata Didi’s part – because she did not listen to him. If Mamata Didi had sat with Rahul Gandhi and discussed things, the results would have been different,” Raut said while speaking to reporters on Tuesday.
Track the 2026 election results live
Describing Rahul as a visionary leader, Rahul said the elections were “stolen” in both West Bengal and Tamil Nadu by the BJP.
The BJP won the Bengal elections, while actor-turned-politician TVK emerged as the single largest party in Tamil Nadu, bringing about the end of the Stalin-led MK government in the state.
“Everything Rahul Gandhi said has come true. He is a visionary and visionary leader. Elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu were stolen,” Raut added.
Rahul supports Mamata’s claim that ‘Korean vote’ happened in Bengal
On Monday night, Mamata Banerjee alleged that the BJP had “looted” over 100 seats and termed the Election Commission (EC) a “BJP committee”, calling the win “immoral” and “illegal”.
Read also | Mamata Banerjee among 22 TMC ministers defeated in BJP’s win in West Bengal elections
Rahul backed her claim, saying that the BJP followed the same playbook that it had used earlier in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Lok Sabha elections.
In a separate post on
Priyanka Chaturvedi also criticized the infighting within the opposition, saying such divisions weaken the broader anti-BJP front.
“This kind of gloating coming from within the India alliance over the failure of TMC and DMK is shameful to see,” she said, referring to recent reactions to the electoral setbacks.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader warned that internal attacks and public criticism among allies only benefit the BJP. She urged the parties to remain united ahead of the key elections, stressing that the India bloc is built on collective strength, not rivalry, and must work in that spirit going forward.
