New Delhi: As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has placed itself for a decisive win in West Bengal, party leader Suvendu Adhikari said that the BJP had managed to bring together support from both Hindu and Adivasi voters in this election cycle.
The BJP, which has been trying to strengthen its position in the state for years, is leading in 198 constituencies as trends moved past the halfway mark in the 294-member Assembly. A party needs 148 seats for a majority in the state, where the Trinamool Congress (TMC) under Mamata Banerjee has been in power since 2011.
“The people voted against the misrule,” Adhikari said, adding that the result so far was part of a long political journey for the BJP in Bengal. Referring to the party’s early ideological roots in the state, he said, “The BJP has been dreaming of doing this since the time of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, but has never been able to do it.”
Adhikari described Bengal as an important cultural centre of the country and said the present political change came from the way the state had been governed in recent years. He also credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his role in the campaign and thanked voters for their participation.
When asked about speculation around him being projected as a future chief minister, he avoided making any direct comment and said that leadership decisions would not be individual-driven.
On voting patterns, he said the outcome could not be broken down in simple gender terms. “Hindu women voted for the BJP,” he said, adding that the party also saw strong support from tribal communities across different regions.
He pointed to changing voter behaviour in areas with changing demographic patterns and said those changes were also visible in the results.
At one point, referring to early projections, he said, “In the coming days, everything will be fine. We are running 189. This is a big difference. We will handle the rest,” indicating confidence in the party’s lead as counting progressed.
He also responded to the TMC’s political messaging, particularly the “outsider-insider” narrative used during the campaign. Calling it political rhetoric, he said, “Outsider-insider, it is a Mamata Banerjee’s very cheap politics. The people rejected it.”
On being pressed again about leadership questions and his role in the party’s state structure, especially after his high-profile political contests in Nandigram and Bhabanipur, he declined to engage directly and said leadership in the BJP was not individual-centred.
“No, I am not passing this sensitive question. The BJP is collective leadership. Under the great leadership of Narendra Modi, we fought this election and results are coming,” he said.
Counting began at 8 am with postal ballots followed by electronic voting machine (EVM) results. Early trends showed the BJP making gains in border areas, tribal regions and several industrial pockets, while the final outcome of the election was still awaited as counting continued.
