PATNA/NEW DELHI: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) registered a sweeping victory in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, prompting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to turn the political spotlight sharply toward West Bengal, where elections are due in 2026. Celebrating the mandate at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi on Friday evening, PM Modi declared that the momentum from Bihar would now carry the party toward a decisive battle in Bengal.
As counting trends showed the NDA comfortably crossing the 200-seat mark—securing a commanding two-thirds majority—PM Modi told thousands of jubilant workers, “Ganga flows through Bihar and reaches Bengal. Bihar has also paved the way for the BJP’s victory in Bengal. Now, together with you, the BJP will uproot the jungle raj from West Bengal as well.”
The 2025 result marks the NDA’s strongest-ever performance in Bihar, with the BJP set to emerge as the single-largest party in the state for the first time.
Bengal Becomes the Next Political Flashpoint
With the 293-seat West Bengal Assembly election scheduled for 2026, the BJP and Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) are already bracing for a fierce contest. Key issues expected to dominate the campaign include women’s safety, law and order, infiltration from Bangladesh, and the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The SIR has become a major political flashpoint. The BJP credits SIR 1.0 in Bihar—which removed nearly 65 lakh fake entries from the voter list—as a landmark exercise in electoral cleansing. Opposition parties in Bihar claimed the process targeted their core voter base, an accusation the BJP flatly denies. In Bengal, the audit is poised to play a similarly contentious role.
Bengal BJP leaders quickly amplified the Prime Minister’s message. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari posted, “Bihar toh bas jhanki hai, West Bengal abhi baaki hai”—Bihar is just the trailer, Bengal is next.
In another tweet earlier in the day, he wrote, “Bihar ki jeet hamari hai, ab Bengali ki baari hai”—Bihar belongs to us, now it’s Bengal’s turn.
The BJP’s official social media handles echoed the optimism with a pointed message: “Next West Bengal.”
TMC Counters: “Dream on”
The TMC responded with sharp defiance, dismissing the BJP’s claim of imminent victory in Bengal.
“Dream on,” read a terse post from the party’s official handle. Another added: “Bring it on.”
TMC leaders insisted that Mamata Banerjee is firmly positioned to return to power with a projected 250 seats.
Party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh argued that PM Modi’s “Bihar-to-Bengal” analogy reflected a misunderstanding of Bengal’s political dynamics. He maintained that the state consistently rejects the BJP’s “divisive politics” and argued that Bengal remains “one of the safest states,” urging the Prime Minister to address high-profile crimes in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh first.
Senior TMC MP Kalyan Bandyopadhyay went further, asserting that Mamata Banerjee should lead the INDIA opposition bloc nationally, calling her “the strongest challenger to the BJP’s communal and authoritarian politics.”
He dismissed suggestions that the BJP’s Bihar performance will spill over into Bengal, saying Bihar’s political landscape—shaped by the BJP’s organisational structure and Congress weaknesses—cannot be compared to West Bengal.
PM Modi’s Attack on Congress: “A Parasite Party”
PM Modi used the moment to intensify his criticism of the Congress, calling it “a parasite party” that damages its allies. He warned that any party aligning with Congress “should think twice,” arguing that the party survives by consuming the vote banks of its partners.
He further claimed that Congress has transformed into what he termed the “Muslim League–Maoist Congress,” suggesting that the party’s ideological direction is influenced by these elements. Modi said internal dissatisfaction within Congress may even trigger another major split.
NDA’s Best-Ever Bihar Performance
According to the Election Commission’s data released Friday afternoon, the NDA coalition—comprising Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), the BJP, Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ramvilas), and Upendra Kushwaha’s RLSP—secured over 200 seats, a historic tally.
The Mahagathbandhan, led by the RJD and Congress, was reduced to fewer than 30 seats, its weakest showing in decades.
The result cements the BJP’s dominant position in Bihar politics and sets the stage for an intense and high-stakes electoral confrontation in West Bengal next year.
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