Local pitch, softer tone, welfare focus: How BJP breached the Bengal fortress
The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) bid to shed the “Bohiragoto” (outsider) tag, success in stoking the fear of illegal immigrants, and a campaign that avoided personal comments on West Bengal chief minister (CM) Mamata Banerjee, even while highlighting misgovernance, worked in West Bengal, giving the party its first-ever electoral success in the state, party leaders said. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters celebrate the majority in the West Bengal assembly elections, in Kolkata on Monday. (ANI) Till around 11.30pm, the BJP had won 206 assembly seats – ensuring that the state that birthed Syama Prasad Mookerjee, founder of the BJP’s progenitor- the Jana Sangh, will have its first BJP CM. Track latest updates in assembly elections 2026 here Leaders cited above also credited the party’s localised campaign, which used slogans such as “Joy Ma Kali” and “Joy Ma Durga” instead of “Joy Shree Ram” and a focus on booth- level management, for its victory. “The Lotus blooms in West Bengal! The 2026 West Bengal Assembly Elections will be remembered forever. People’s power has prevailed and BJP’s …








