Indian PM' party takes West Bengal after years of opposition rule

Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have secured a sweeping election victory in West Bengal, ending years of opposition rule in one of India’s most politically significant states.

It marks the first time Modi’s party has won assembly elections in the eastern Indian state, which had remained a rare opposition stronghold under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress (TMC), as The Guardian points out.

Banerjee had long been one of Modi’s fiercest political critics and a prominent opponent of the BJP’s Hindu nationalist agenda during his 12 years in power.

In a result expected to reshape India’s political landscape and further weaken the fractured opposition, the BJP appeared set to win more than 205 of the 294 seats in West Bengal’s state assembly — a commanding majority.

The victory, long considered a strategic goal for the BJP, further strengthens the party’s dominance over both state and central governments as it expands its influence across eastern India, the outlet reports.

Since Modi became prime minister in 2014, the BJP has steadily consolidated political power nationwide while advancing an agenda critics say seeks to redefine India as a Hindu state rather than a secular republic. Meanwhile, opposition parties have struggled with internal divisions and infighting.

In this week’s elections, the BJP was also re-elected in the eastern state of Assam, giving the party control in 20 of India’s 28 states.

Controversial voter purge

The election result followed a controversial revision of West Bengal’s electoral rolls conducted by the BJP-led government.

Under a programme described as a “special intensive revision” (SIR), it aimed at removing allegedly illegal voters. As part of the exercise, more than 2.7 million names were removed from the voter register, The Guardian reports.

Analysts and opposition leaders said Muslims and other minority communities — groups that traditionally do not support the BJP — were disproportionately affected. Many reportedly lacked sufficient time to challenge their removal before polling day.

Critics, including leaders from the TMC, accused the BJP of using the revision process to tilt the election in its favour, allegations the government rejected.

Rahul Verma told the British outlet that the BJP’s breakthrough in West Bengal was the result of a “seven-year project” by the party leadership and grassroots organisation.

He pointed to growing dissatisfaction with the TMC government and public frustration over its influence on daily life as major factors behind the loss.

Verma also said the BJP had run a more disciplined and locally attuned campaign than in previous elections, when the party had often been criticised as political “outsiders” threatening Bengali cultural and linguistic identity.

“The BJP had a strong and well organised presence in West Bengal and Modi is seen as a charismatic leader,” Verma said. “This kind of result also wouldn’t have happened without a consolidation of the Hindu vote.”

By Nazrin Sadigova