Tamluk/Darjeeling/Jalpaiguri/Purulia/Jhargram: The BJP has delivered a sweeping blow to the Trinamool Congress across eight districts of Bengal, tightening its grip over large parts of north Bengal and Jangalmahal while scripting a total rout in East Midnapore, where it won all 16 Assembly seats.From the hills of Darjeeling and Kalimpong to the forests of Jhargram and Purulia, and through Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Bankura and East Midnapore, the saffron party has wiped out the TMC in district after district. The scale of the victory underlines not just anti-incumbency against the ruling party, but also the BJP’s growing ability to convert social coalitions, local grievances and organisational strength into a decisive electoral machine.The most dramatic story came from East Midnapore, where the BJP completed a clean sweep of all 16 seats, overturning the 2021 picture when the TMC held nine and the BJP seven. The district, long seen as politically sensitive and symbolically crucial because of Nandigram, has now emerged as one of the BJP’s strongest bastions in Bengal.Nandigram itself remained eerily quiet on counting day, a striking contrast to the political significance of the seat. Scarred by memories of post-poll violence in 2021, residents stayed indoors even as BJP heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari surged ahead from the opening round and went on to crush TMC rival Pabitra Kar by a massive margin. The silence on the streets reflected fear, but inside the BJP camp the mood was triumphant, with workers celebrating as the scale of the district-wide sweep became clear.The BJP’s East Midnapore sweep covered every constituency in the district — Tamluk, Panskura East, Panskura West, Moyna, Nandakumar, Mahishadal, Haldia, Nandigram, Chandipur, Khejuri, Bhagabanpur, Kanthi North, Kanthi South, Ramnagar, Egra and Patashpur. The rout included several high-profile setbacks for the TMC. In Haldia, BJP’s Pradip Bijli defeated Tapasi Mondal, who switched from the BJP to the TMC after winning previously. In Moyna, former cricketer Ashok Dinda retained his seat for the BJP. In Chandipur, the TMC’s candidate reshuffle failed to stop the saffron surge. In Ramnagar, veteran TMC leader and former minister Akhil Giri suffered his first defeat. In Egra, Dibyendu Adhikari, Suvendu’s brother, won on a BJP ticket, adding to the family’s dominance in the district.If East Midnapore was the headline, north Bengal reinforced the broader pattern. In Darjeeling and Kalimpong, the BJP retained its hill strongholds, though with more resistance than in 2021. In Darjeeling, BJP-backed GJM candidate Noman Rai held off a strong challenge from the TMC-backed BGPM. In Kurseong too, the BJP stayed ahead in a tighter contest. But in the plains, the margins were emphatic. Phansidewa, Matigara-Naxalbari and Siliguri all delivered commanding leads for BJP candidates, showing that while the Hills may be more competitive, the plains remain firmly saffron.Across the Himalayan and sub-Himalayan belt — Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar — the BJP’s dominance was overwhelming. The TMC failed to hold ground despite sustained efforts to recover lost support in tea garden areas and among regional communities. The BJP’s messaging on identity, recognition and regional aspirations continued to resonate, while the TMC’s welfare and outreach efforts failed to reverse the trend.In Jhargram, the BJP won all four assembly seats, snatching a district that was entirely with the TMC in 2021. The shift was especially significant because the TMC also led in these segments in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The BJP appears to have benefited from anger among Kurmi voters, tribal discontent and resentment against local TMC leadership. The induction of Kurmi leader Rajesh Mahato into the BJP gave the party a major social and political boost in Jangalmahal, helping convert simmering dissatisfaction into votes.Purulia delivered another emphatic verdict, with the BJP winning all nine seats in the district. In 2021, the BJP was already dominant there, but this time it completed the wipeout. Analysts point to consolidation of Hindu votes, erosion of tribal and indigenous support for the TMC, factionalism within the ruling party and the impact of the Kurmi mobilisation. The “No Vote to Trinamool” sentiment in Kurmi-dominated pockets appears to have hurt the ruling party badly.Bankura followed the same script. The BJP won all 12 seats in the district, improving on its already strong 2021 performance when it won eight. What makes the result more striking is that the TMC showed strength in the 2024 Lok Sabha election in the region, only to collapse completely in the assembly battle. The turnaround suggests that the BJP succeeded in rebuilding momentum quickly and decisively.Taken together, the results mark a major territorial expansion of BJP dominance in Bengal. In district after district, the TMC has not merely lost ground but been erased from the winner’s column. Yet among all these victories, East Midnapore stands out as the political centrepiece — a district of enormous symbolic value where the BJP has now established total supremacy with a 16-0 sweep.(With inputs from Suman Mandal, Pinak Priya Bhattacharya, Roshan Gupta, Nisha Chettri, Tanuja Singh Deo and Falguni Banerjee)
