The BJP’s victory in West Bengal, ending the 15-year rule of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, has marked another milestone in the party’s political expansion under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. With the win, the BJP has now secured the chief minister’s post for the first time in nine states since Modi became prime minister in 2014.
The party’s expansion began with Haryana and Maharashtra in 2014 and later extended to Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Odisha, Bihar and now West Bengal.
BJP’s first breakthroughs in Haryana and Maharashtra
In Haryana, the BJP formed a government on its own for the first time and appointed Manohar Lal Khattar as chief minister.
In Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis became the state’s first BJP chief minister after the party emerged as the single-largest force in the Assembly elections and formed the government with allies in the Mahayuti alliance.
Northeast expansion strengthened BJP’s reach
The BJP expanded its footprint in the Northeast in 2016 with its victory in Assam, where Sarbananda Sonowal became the party’s first chief minister in the state.
Since then, the BJP has retained power in Assam and won two more consecutive Assembly elections, including the one held in April.
The same year, the BJP formed its first full-fledged government in Arunachal Pradesh following a major political realignment.
Congress leader Pema Khandu became chief minister in July 2016 during a prolonged political crisis. In September that year, he and a majority of Congress MLAs joined the People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA), then allied with the BJP.
In December 2016, Khandu and 33 MLAs joined the BJP, giving the party a clear majority and its first stable government in the state.
The BJP had earlier briefly headed a government in Arunachal Pradesh in 2003 under former chief minister Gegong Apang, who had switched from the Congress to the BJP. However, the government lasted only 44 days before Apang returned to the Congress.
BJP forms first governments in Manipur and Tripura
In 2017, the BJP stitched together a post-poll alliance with the National People’s Party, Naga People’s Front and regional parties in Manipur to form its first government in the state. N Biren Singh was sworn in as chief minister.
A year later, the BJP ended the Left Front’s decades-long rule in Tripura and formed its maiden government under Biplab Kumar Deb.
Odisha and Bihar added to BJP’s list
The BJP achieved another major breakthrough in eastern India in 2024 by defeating the Biju Janata Dal in Odisha. Mohan Charan Majhi became the BJP’s first chief minister in the state, ending Naveen Patnaik’s uninterrupted 24-year tenure.
In Bihar, despite being part of coalition governments led by Nitish Kumar for years, the BJP did not have a chief minister from the party until 2026.
After Kumar stepped down earlier this year and moved to the Rajya Sabha, the BJP appointed Samrat Choudhary as the state’s first BJP chief minister.
West Bengal victory marks major political milestone
The BJP’s latest victory in West Bengal is being seen as one of its most significant political gains. The party won 207 of the 294 Assembly seats to form the government in a state long considered politically difficult terrain for the BJP.
Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday took oath as West Bengal's first BJP chief minister, capping the historic saffron sweep in the state as the iconic Brigade Parade Grounds in Kolkata hosted the swearing-in of the maiden BJP government since Independence.
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said the party’s growth reflects its governance model and increasing public acceptance.
“Under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, the BJP and NDA have continuously expanded their political footprint across India on the basis of governance, performance and delivery. States that never had a BJP government or BJP chief minister earlier have elected BJP governments after Modi became prime minister,” he said.
“Prime Minister Modi has now become synonymous with pro-incumbency. In the last few elections, BJP-NDA governments in states like Assam and Puducherry have been voted back to power, while governments in several opposition-ruled states have faced anti-incumbency,” he said.
He described the BJP’s rise in eastern India as “historic”.
“This will help correct the historical imbalance and neglect faced by eastern India under Congress rule and ensure balanced development and infrastructure growth,” he said.
Poonawalla also claimed that the BJP-NDA alliance continues to expand while the Congress is losing political ground.
“Today, the BJP-NDA has around 21-22 governments across the country. The alliance's governance footprint extends to nearly 78 per cent of India's population and around 72 per cent of its landmass,” he said.
“The BJP under Modi's leadership has become the central pole of Indian politics, while Congress is increasingly losing political space. Even its allies in the INDIA bloc are unhappy because Congress is competing with them for the same vote bank,” he alleged.
BJP calls current period a ‘golden phase’
BJP national spokesperson Tuhin A Sinha described the party’s expansion into new regions as a major political achievement.
“This has been a golden phase in the BJP's journey because we have entered geographical regions that were once considered impregnable or extremely difficult for the party,” he said.
Sinha said the BJP’s governance decisions and delivery on key promises strengthened public trust in the party.
“Whether it is the abrogation of Article 370, implementation of the CAA or the construction of the Ram Mandir, the BJP has demonstrated that it fulfils its promises. That is one of the reasons why states that were once immune to the BJP's influence are now embracing the party,” he said.
He added that the BJP now has a strong nationwide presence.
“Barring two southern states -- Tamil Nadu and Kerala -- the BJP has established a strong presence across the country, and these states are also part of the party's future expansion plans,” Sinha said.