INDIA’S Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has secured a landmark electoral victory in West Bengal, ending decades of opposition dominance in one of India’s most politically significant states, while also consolidating gains elsewhere in regional polls.
AFP reported today that the results, still being finalised under heavy security, mark the BJP’s first-ever win in West Bengal, a state of more than 100 million people long considered a stronghold of the ruling Trinamool Congress led by veteran chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
According to the Election Commission of India, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 206 of 294 seats in the state legislative assembly, delivering a decisive majority and a symbolic breakthrough in eastern India.
The victory forms part of a wider electoral sweep across five states and territories that held simultaneous polls in April and May, with results announced on Monday also confirming BJP wins in Assam and participation in a ruling coalition in Puducherry.
The outcome strengthens the position of Narendra Modi ahead of future national political battles, as he faces domestic economic challenges including unemployment and ongoing negotiations over a trade agreement with the United States.
“The 2026 West Bengal Assembly Elections will be remembered forever,” Modi said on social media. “People’s power has prevailed and BJP’s politics of good governance has triumphed.”
“BJP’s record win in West Bengal would not be possible without the efforts and struggles of countless Karyakartas (workers) over generations,” he added.
Senior party leaders and supporters gathered in Kolkata to celebrate, marking the BJP’s breakthrough in a state that has been governed by the Trinamool Congress since 2011 under Mamata Banerjee.
The campaign was overshadowed by controversy over voter roll revisions, which authorities described as an effort to remove ineligible names but which critics argued disproportionately affected minority and marginalised groups.
Banerjee, visibly angered by the outcome, alleged electoral malpractice and accused the BJP of influencing the electoral body.
“BJP looted more than 100 seats. The Election Commission is the BJP’s commission,” she said in Kolkata, vowing to “bounce back”.
She also lost her own constituency of Bhabanipur to BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari by more than 15,000 votes.
Political analysts said the result significantly expands the BJP’s influence across eastern India.
“It’s a tremendous victory,” said political analyst Sushila Ramaswamy. “It also shows the electoral machinery of the BJP, how effective and how much detailing goes into their election campaign. And it establishes the BJP as the dominant party in the country.”
In a post-election address, Modi urged restraint and reconciliation following the intense political contest.
“Today, when the BJP has won, the talk should not be of ‘revenge’, but of ‘change’. Not of fear, but of the future”, he said.
Elsewhere, Indian politics also saw major shifts in southern India, where veteran leader MK Stalin lost his seat in Tamil Nadu to a challenger from a newly formed party led by actor-turned-politician C. Joseph Vijay.
Stalin’s party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, finished second behind Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, which campaigned on youth employment and governance reform in the industrial state.
Political scientist Ramu Manivanan said the result reflected a broader generational and political shift.
“This result (in Tamil Nadu) shows that the youth want a new face. It is not just anti-incumbency,” he said.
“Vijay as an actor has a large female fan base as a cinema star. All that has influenced the outcome,” he added.
In neighbouring Kerala, an opposition alliance led by the Congress party defeated the Left Democratic Front, ending two consecutive terms of Communist-led government.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi described the result as a strong mandate for change. - May 5, 2026
