Bihar verdict signals shifting political winds in East, says Samik
The Statesman | 15 November 2025
The resounding victory of the NDA in Bihar has sent a “clear political message for eastern India,” indicating that West Bengal could emerge as the next major centre of political change, West Bengal BJP president and Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya said on Friday.
Soon after the Bihar results were declared, Bhattacharya held a crucial meeting in Kolkata with Union minister and BJP’s West Bengal observer Bhupender Yadav to assess the regional implications of the verdict. The discussions, BJP sources said, focused on strengthening the party’s organisational network in Bengal ~ particularly at the booth level ~ and gearing up for what the leadership views as a favourable political climate ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. Yadav returned to New Delhi later at night after the review. Speaking to reporters, Bhattacharya said the NDA’s win in Bihar was “more than just an electoral outcome”; it was an “early indication of a larger political shift unfolding in eastern India”. According to him, Bihar’s electorate rejected “dynasty politics, corruption and deception”, choosing instead stability and development.
The BJP state president argued that the development initiatives of the Narendra Modi government were creating “tangible changes” in households across Bengal. Schemes such as Ujjwala, PM Awas Yojana, PM–JAY health protection, Jan Dhan accounts, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Har Ghar Jal, Swachh Bharat Mission and infrastructure modernization in railways, ports and highways had reached “millions of beneficiaries”, he said.