Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have scored a historic victory in West Bengal by defeating Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and ending her party’s 15-year rule in the state.
Preliminary election results showed the BJP leading or winning almost 200 of the 294 assembly seats in the state.
Banerjee’s All India Trinamool Congress was trailing far behind with less than 90 seats.
The BJP had never ruled West Bengal before and had won only 77 seats during the last state elections in 2021.
Many analysts linked the BJP’s success to a strong campaign, religious polarization and growing dissatisfaction with the TMC government.
Seema Das, a domestic worker who came from New Delhi to vote in her village, told Al Jazeera that she changed her support after a family discussion. “Didi has lost her way and is only pleasing Muslims to remain in power,” he said, referring to Banerjee by her popular nickname.
Rahul Verma, a political analyst at Shiv Nadar University, told Al Jazeera that there was “clear support for Mamata”, but there was also growing frustration with the ruling party.
“There is an anti-incumbency wave against the TMC machinery and people are not happy with their interference in everyday life,” Verma said.
This result is being seen as one of the most significant state election victories of the BJP in recent years.
