The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday secured 40 of 54 Assembly seats in north Bengal, surpassing its previous record of 30 seats in the 2021 elections.
The Trinamool Congress, which suffered a major setback across the state, was reduced to a minor political force in north Bengal, where the party won only 14 seats.
In 2021, Trinamool had won 23 seats in north Bengal. The Kalimpong MLA, who had won as a Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) candidate, later supported
Trinamool.
On Monday, the BJP bagged all Assembly seats in four districts — Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling and Kalimpong. In 2021, Trinamool had drawn a blank in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Alipurduar districts.
“The results have proved that north Bengal continues to be a fortress for the BJP, barring a few areas. We are confident that we will be able to surpass Trinamool even in the remaining seats in terms of support base in the future,” said Bapi Goswami, a state secretary of the BJP, based in Jalpaiguri.
He said the BJP had won from seven of eight Lok Sabha constituencies in the 2019 and 2024 general elections.
“People across north Bengal have shown their support for us in favour of development and sought a regime change in the state. This time, people in the rest of the state have realised it and voted for us. There is no doubt that north Bengal has led the way,” Goswami added.
Trinamool leaders, who were disappointed with the results, said the BJP’s polarisation card once again worked in north Bengal.
“BJP leaders, including central ministers, played the polarisation card to draw votes from Rajbanshis, Gorkhas, tribal groups and some other communities. The Trinamool government had taken up several initiatives to expedite north Bengal’s development, but unfortunately, the BJP’s card worked,” a senior Trinamool functionary in
Siliguri said.
The BJP, however, differed. “People here voted against the Left and Trinamool governments’ deprivation for decades and in favour of the BJP’s development agenda. The elaborate mentions of various infrastructure projects for north Bengal, along with improvements in connectivity, and the promises for the tea population and other communities, made people support us,” said Shankar Ghosh, who won from Siliguri on a BJP ticket, defeating Gautam Deb of Trinamool.
North Bengal development minister Udayan Guha also lost to the BJP candidate in Dinhata in Cooch Behar district. Almost all BJP MLAs who were given tickets this time in north Bengal have won.