The towering Sujit Bose was brought down decisively.

More than 6-feet tall, Bose had not lost an election since 2009 — a “tall” Trinamool leader in more ways than one.

On Monday night, however, he was defeated by a wide margin by an oncologist who lacked his political charisma but rode on a promise of change.

Sharadwat Mukherjee, the BJP’s candidate from Bidhannagar, won by over 37,000 votes after 16 rounds of counting. Votes from 14 booths are counted in each round.

The Bidhannagar constituency has 2,03,877 voters.

Even the fringes of Salt Lake, traditionally a Trinamool stronghold, appeared to have swung away from the party this time. Without a detailed ward-wise break-up, it was not immediately clear where the candidates led. In previous elections, Bose had led in wards considered added areas of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation while trailing in the core township.

The Bidhannagar Assembly constituency comprises wards 28 to 41 of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, and wards 19, 20 and 28 to 35 of the South Dum Dum Municipality.

A Trinamool worker said in previous elections, Bose would trail in most wards of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, except three covering areas such as Nayapatti, Naobhanga, Notunpalli and Sukantanagar — neighbourhoods on the fringes of Salt Lake that are not as upscale as the township itself. He would usually make up ground with substantial leads in the South Dum Dum Municipality wards.

On Monday, that pattern did not appear to hold.

Soma Das, 37, standing outside Bidhannagar College where counting was under way, said a lack of jobs had forced many in her family to leave Calcutta.

“We wanted a change. I have been working at a retail store for the last 10 years. My income has not kept pace with the rising cost of living. There is hardly any scope to find better-paying jobs in Calcutta,” she said.

Das lives with her husband, their 10-year-old son and her parents.

Inside City Centre in Salt Lake, Sushmita Yadav, 40, was tracking the results on her phone. “The appeasement of Muslims had become a threat to Sanatani Dharma,” said Yadav, expressing satisfaction with the shift in the political landscape.

“All young people are leaving Bengal to work in other states. Mamata promised change when she came to power, but her 15 years in office have hollowed out the system,” she said.

By 12.30pm, BJP supporters had begun gathering outside Bidhannagar College, waving flags and chanting “Jai Shri Ram”. Some arrived on motorcycles, others in totos.

Not everyone, however, was optimistic about the outcome. “The Left did not do much good for the state. Mamata did not either. I am not sure this change will be very different,” said a Salt Lake resident who is a software engineer.

“Our core values — our heritage, culture, education and higher education — will be eroded,” she said.