Kolkata, India — May 4, 2026
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has secured a landmark victory in West Bengal, unseating longtime Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and marking the party's first-ever governance of the politically influential state.
A Political Stronghold Overturned
The BJP won at least 124 seats in the 294-member West Bengal assembly and was leading in 83 others, according to provisional results. The victory ends Banerjee's 15-year rule, which began in 2011 under her All India Trinamool Congress party. West Bengal, home to more than 90 million people, had been a key opposition stronghold in India's 28-state federation.
"A new chapter has been added to Bengal's destiny," a BJP spokesperson declared, framing the win as a transformative moment. The Election Commission of India's removal of millions of voters from electoral rolls ahead of the contest drew scrutiny, though officials cited routine auditing processes.