NEW DELHI: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said what happened in the Maharashtra and Delhi elections will not have any reflection in the state and that the BJP will be finished by 2027-2029. “They (non-BJP parties) failed to counter the BJP in Maharashtra and Delhi. But in Bengal, we will take them head-on. By 2027-2029, the BJP will be finished. They have only 2-3 years left,” the chief minister said at an organisational meeting of the party as she set the target of 215 seats out of 294 seats in the 2026 election.
After the rout of the AAP in the Delhi election, all eyes are now on West Bengal as the BJP is making strong attempts to wrest the state from the TMC which has been in power since 2011.
“We will win over 215 seats in the 2026 assembly polls and further diminish the BJP’s numbers,” Mamata said.
“In 2021, they boasted ‘200 paar’ but faced defeat. In 2024, they claimed ‘400 paar’ in the Lok Sabha elections but failed to secure a majority. We will secure a two-thirds majority, and BJP candidates should lose their deposits,” the chief minister said.
In the address, Mamata Banerjee made a big charge that the BJP sent an agency named Association for Billion Minds to Bengal and they are replacing Bengal voters’ names with those from other states like Haryana, Gujarat. “This is directly being done from Delhi. By doing the same, they (BJP) won in Maharashtra, Haryana and Delhi…You have two responsibilities- defeat BJP and make Bengal win again. Don’t worry, we will win again. We are Bengal, not Delhi or Maharashtra,” Mamata said.
‘Mamata is making such statements because….’: BJP reacts
BJP MP Samik Bhattacharya said Mamata Banerjee is making such statements to boost the morale of the party workers because she realised that she is going to lose the assembly election. “The whole world knows TMC for its mastery in electoral malpractices and vote loot. If she truly believes in her work, why does she encourage violence? Hindus in Bengal have united, and that is why she is scared,” he said.
In 2021, TMC secured 213 seats, ensuring a comfortable majority, while the BJP won 77 seats
‘Bengal ki baari…’
After Delhi election results which saw the return of the BJP after more than 26 years, West Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari gave a clarion call for Bengal. “Delhi ki jeet hamari hai…2026 mein Bengal ki baari hai…(Delhi’s victory is ours…in 2026, it will be Bengal’s turn,” Adhikari said.
