‘Game over’, says West Bengal BJP

❐ BD Digest Report

During the vote counting of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, the state BJP unit posted on social media platform X, “The game is over.” However, the outgoing Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, has urged Trinamool candidates and agents to remain alert and not leave the counting centers. She alleged that the BJP and the Election Commission are jointly playing a “planned game” to show the saffron camp ahead in the counting.

The counting trends show that the BJP is on the verge of finally capturing West Bengal by breaching Mamata Banerjee’s stronghold. However, as close contests are ongoing in many seats, this picture could change at any moment. Among them is the Bhabanipur constituency in Kolkata, where outgoing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is already leading by a comfortable margin.

In a video message during the counting process, Mamata called on party workers to stay at the counting centers and not lose morale.

As of 4:30 PM Indian time, according to data published on the Election Commission’s website, the BJP has already crossed the threshold of 148 seats required for a simple majority in the 294-member assembly.

At the beginning of the counting for 293 seats, postal ballots were counted first, followed by votes recorded in electronic voting machines (EVMs). Officials have cautioned that several more rounds of counting remain, meaning the trend could change, and the final results will be known later today.

However, ignoring these cautions, BJP leaders and activists have already begun celebrating. In central Kolkata, a shopkeeper was heard proudly chanting the slogan “Jai Shri Ram.”

BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said that the election results have exposed deep cracks within the opposition alliance.

In a post on X, Poonawalla wrote that the biggest lesson of this election is that the “INDI” alliance has completely collapsed and ceased to exist. He said Rahul Gandhi has failed to lead the alliance, and throughout the election it was evident that he could not manage it.

He further said that despite being in power for 12 consecutive years, the BJP is forming governments in new states, its vote share is increasing, and public trust in the BJP is becoming stronger due to Modi.

Meanwhile, BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde thanked the people of West Bengal. In a post on X, he said that Bengal—where (Syama Prasad) Mukherjee was born—is now theirs. He extended heartfelt congratulations to the people of Bengal for giving the BJP a historic mandate in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly election.