The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to make history in Bengal. The state is on course to see its first BJP government since Independence as the Trinamool is staring at defeat after 15 years in power, in the first election after a record deletion of voters under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress is in a direct showdown with the BJP, the face of which is the Chief Minister’s former lieutenant, now a fiery Leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, reports NDTV.
Other candidates include the Congress and Left front; adding a twist to the political dynamics is a new party formed by suspended Trinamool MLA Humayun Kabir, who had shot to limelight with his initiative to build a mosque named after the Babri.
Bengal voted in two phases on April 23 and 29, with repolling ordered in Falta constituency and some booths elsewhere.
The Assembly Math
The West Bengal Assembly has 294 seats. To form the government, a simple majority of 148 seats is needed. Any party or coalition of parties must gain the magic figure to win the election.
In 2021, Trinamool won 215 seats while the BJP made deeper inroads in Bengal and ended up bagging 77 seats, becoming the main opposition party for the first time in the state assembly. The Congress and the Left were zero. Chief Minister Banerjee lost to LoP Adhikari in Nandigram but was later elected through a bypoll from Bhabanipur.
Adhikari has this time brought the fight to Banerjee’s doorstep in Bhabanipur, which is going to steal the focus this counting session.
But the heat was felt throughout Bengal, for what was an intense battle of ideologies, grassroots politics, aggressive promises of doles and development, and fresh calls of change in a state where the Left fortress fell 15 years ago.
A report by The Indian Express indicates that the Trinamool Congress, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, is heading toward a significant defeat in this election. In contrast, the main opposition party, the BJP, appears set to secure a major victory.
If the current trends in the election results continue through to the final count, the BJP is likely to form the government in West Bengal for the first time in the state’s history.
