BJP gears up for Bengal, but it won’t be a cakewalk
The Statesman | 18 November 2025
Surpassing expectations in Bihar elections, the BJP is shifting focus to West Bengal with a recalibrated strategy boosted by organisational strength and a targeted campaign against the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) on law and order, women’s safety, and migration issues. However, unlike Bihar, West Bengal will not be an easy task, given TMC’s inherent strengths and the lack of a strong third option in the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already signalled that West Bengal is the next electoral target, setting up a direct challenge to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The BJP aims to replicate the ‘Jungle Raj’ narrative to take on Mamata, who is looking for a fourth term. “Bengal will never tolerate BJP’s politics of saam, daam, dand, bhed to grab power at any cost,” say TMC leaders.
BJP’s strengths are its vast resources and a strong backroom strategy manned by top leaders on the ground. For 2026, the saffron party has revamped its campaign strategy to capitalise on the anti-incumbency sentiment, with top leaders—General Secretary Sunil Bansal, Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, Bihar minister Mangal Pandey, and IT cell in charge Amit Malviya—collaborating with the local leadership.
But they have their hands full. The last three Assembly elections were won by the TMC. In 2021, the BJP managed 77 of the 294 Assembly seats even though the party’s master strategist, Amit Shah, had predicted 200 seats. Thus, for 2026, the BJP is recalibrating its strategy with people-centric issues. Instead of solely attacking, it aims to highlight issues like women’s safety, governance failures, and law and order, and make Bihar an example for wooing women voters. The narrative will also incorporate typical polarising issues like illegal migration and recent disturbances related to Bangladeshi minorities.
But West Bengal is not Bihar; first, TMC has a well-entrenched support base with a strong cadre strength. Also, a direct contest against a strong opponent is never an advantage for the saffron party; the situation may become more intense if Mamata allies with Congress and the Left. Congress has already indicated that it is open to an alliance with the TMC, and after Bihar, there is buzz of the TMC supremo taking charge of the INDIA bloc. The BJP’s confidence comes from its electoral machinery, vast resources, and the ability to deliver the message on the ground, but Bengal is a different ballgame.