Five resons for BJP win in bengal

 

BJP’s big Bengal win: 5 reasons it beat Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Election Results 2026: 

Pleasantly surprised by their seat tally of around 193 in West Bengal as of 2 pm on Monday (May 4), 

overshooting internal party estimates of bagging 185-plus Assembly seats, the BJP attributed its sweep of the state to several factors broadly falling under five categories.

With what party insiders 

• core issues of “security”
• whether this was in the context of the law and order condition in the state under 15 years of TMC rule
•  to “assurance” over the Dearness Allowance and pension of state government employees or Centre-led development

1. The women vote

reservation for women in legislature last month 

Receiving a fillip from the NDA government’s attempts to push through reservation for women in legislature last month, BJP insiders said the narrative around opposition parties being anti-women found “a lot of resonance” on the ground in West Bengal.

Party insiders said while they were still in the process of assessing its impact, the women’s vote in the state was expected to have swung up to “at least five percent” in the BJP’s favour in the state, where the proportion of women voters is almost similar to that of men.

In 2026

There were 3.16 crore women voters compared to 3.28 crore male voters among the 6.44 crore electors following the purification of electoral rolls as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). 

In 2021-  the female-male voter ratio had been 

• female 3.59 crore 
•  3.74 crore male . 

In 2021, the TMC had claimed 48.02% of the vote share compared to the BJP’s 38.1% and the Congress’s 10%.

2. Wooing government employees

Similar to Delhi, home to a significant chunk of both Central and state government employees, sources said that 

• anti-incumbency 

 -  सत्ता-विरोधी भावना का अर्थ है सत्ताधारी राजनेताओं को सत्ता से हटाने का समर्थन करना, और यह समर्थन केवल सत्ताधारी राजनेताओं के सत्ताधारी होने के कारण ही होता है। इसे कभी-कभी "निकम्मों को बाहर निकालो" की भावना भी कहा जाता है। सत्ता-विरोधी भावना के दौर में आमतौर पर लहरदार चुनाव होते हैं। ,

• “denial of rights” to government employees

•  Seventh Pay Commission seemed to have successfully struck a chord with “between 20 to 50 lakh” voters. 

• This included both existing Central and state government employees, as well as young voters aspiring for government jobs.

During the launch of the BJP’s “Poribortan Yatra” in the state

Union Home Minister Amit Shah promised the implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission in the state within 45 days of coming to power and filling vacancies in government jobs.

West Bengal also had the highest proportion of service electors 

on the rolls compared to the three other states and the Union Territory of Puducherry which went to the polls: 

• 1.08 lakh in - bengal 
•  67,000 in Tamil Nadu
• more than 63,000 in Assam
• more than 54,000 in Kerala.

3. Centre-led development

non-implementation of the BJP-led Central government’s flagship welfare schemes 

From the supposed non-implementation of the BJP-led Central government’s flagship welfare schemes 

 lack of public and industrial infrastructure in the state under the TMC government

party insiders said the Prime Minister Narendra Modi versus Mamata Banerjee narrative had borne fruit. This was also pitched to voters in the capital in 2025, against Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal.

Centre-led development and infrastructure  

According to party insiders - these had drawn both the middle class as well as first-time voter cohorts

• Centre-led development 
• infrastructure push, 
• PM Modi’s assurance to boot at almost each of his over one-dozen public events in the state .

According to ECI statistics

 

• 5.23 lakh first-time electors
• an estimated 1.31 crore voters aged between 20 and 29 on the electoral rolls this year. 

This cohort was specifically targeted by the BJP with a dedicated outreach both on 

• social media
• as well as on the ground.

4. Safety, security deployment, anti-incumbency

political violence during elections 

In a state known for political violence during elections, BJP insiders credited the 

• Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh’s ability to mobilise “voters irrespective of their ideology”, 

• thus “instilling confidence” in the average voter to exercise their franchise “without any fear” in who they wanted to vote for. 

• They also noted the unprecedented deployment of Central forces in the state.

According to the ECI, 500 Companies of CAPFs -  

(Central Armed Police Forces) shall continue to remain deployed in West Bengal for post poll law and order duties even after the completion of counting, till further orders. 

 200 Companies of CAPFs - 

Additionally, the commission had announced, 200 Companies of CAPFs shall be retained for 

• security arrangements of EVM/strongrooms 
• and counting centre 
• remain deployed till the completion of counting in the state.

 law and order situtation and RG Kar rape and murder case

This assurance  by Prime Minister and Union Home Minister, was, according to insiders, 

also able to land a simultaneous blow on the TMC in terms of the “questionable” law and order situtation in West Bengal,

 as well as challenge it in terms of incumbency, given cases such the RG Kar rape and murder case.

5. SIR/outsider narrative

BJP insiders credited the SIR exercise with having ensured that “only bona fide voters” were able to exercise their franchise, no matter whose tally their votes were added to.

Additionally, the party fanned the narrative around a crusade for the 

purification of electoral rolls, which were allegedly rife with “outsiders”. 

The new  

• removal of over 27 lakh names from the state’s electoral roll 
• over 30 lakh more votes polled, compared to the 2021 elections.

Source indian express