BJP’s historic win in West Bengal: The saffronization of Bengal begins? | The Federal

Added: 2026-05-11

[00:00:00]Mamta Banerjee ruled West Bengal for 15 years, first ending 34 years of Left Front rule in 2011, then holding on for two terms with an iron grip. But the 2026 assembly elections delivered a political earthquake. The BJP, riding on a massive campaign held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, fought on issues of governance, corruption, women's safety, and the highly charged question of illegal infiltration broke through.

[00:00:32]Winning 207 of 293 seats, the party formed its first ever government in West Bengal.

[00:00:40]Suvendu Adhikari, once Mamta's own trusted lieutenant, was sworn in as Chief Minister on May 9th on Kolkata's Brigade Parade Ground with Prime Minister Modi in attendance. But the BJP's biggest campaign promise, cracking down on illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators, is already facing hard questions. The Ministry of External Affairs has officially put the number of Bangladeshis pending deportation at just over 2,360, a far cry from the millions the BJP's narrative suggested. The gap between political rhetoric and ground reality is big and stark. Under 3,000 deportations are apparently on the anvil. Yeah. What do you think is happening?

[00:01:24]>> And that is also within a span of 5 years. So, this punches a big hole in BJP's this narrative of, you know, illegal infiltrators from Bangladesh changing demography of West Bengal. We are seeing this kind of narrative hypothesis without, you know, solid statistics to back their narrative. In Assam also, we there were talks of illegal infiltrators changing Assam's demography. And BJP is in power in Assam for the last two more than two times.

[00:02:00]And we know what happened with NRC. NRC more Hindus got left out than Muslims.

[00:02:06]Neither the government of India nor the Election Commission is actually coming out with any figure. They are maintaining strict silence. And you know, and that is actually because of this Election Commission silence that actually helped BJP to or push their narrative further. If the Election Commission had come out and yeah, clarified that no, those whose names were not included in the electoral roll does not necessarily mean they are all illegal migrants. They are not they are not valid Indian citizens. Election Commission could have come out and clarified this, but unfortunately the commission hasn't done that and that helped BJP in the election. With 27 lakh people still before the tribunals and no clear official data on actual illegal migrants, the new government faces a serious credibility test on its core campaign promise. Expectations in Bengal are sky high on jobs, law and order, development and corruption. Whether Suvendu Adhikari's government can deliver is the question Bengal and India will be watching closely. There are great expectations of this new government, but you know, when the expectations are so huge, then it's going to be a huge challenge for the BJP and Suvendu Adhikari to meet them. And we'll be watching in the coming months how those great expectations are met, if at all. A new chapter has begun in Bengal, but history will judge this government not by the saffron it wore on oath day, but by the promise it keeps.

[00:03:56]>> Mhm.