BJP Eyes Bengal: Can Bihar Win Fuel a Political Wave in West Bengal?

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is aiming to ride the momentum of its landmark victory in Bihar to advance its political ambitions in West Bengal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set his sights on the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, targeting the unseating of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress (TMC).

Linking Bihar’s success to his Bengal strategy, PM Modi has vowed to transform the state and put an end to what he described as the prevailing “jungle raj.”

BJP Party National President JP Nadda has placed the crucial responsibility of conquering West Bengal on the shoulders of the leaders and workers who tirelessly campaigned in Bihar to secure victory.

At a dinner held Wednesday evening to commemorate the Bihar win, Nadda, alongside the party’s national office-bearers, invited prominent grassroots leaders who played a pivotal role in ensuring the success of BJP candidates in Bihar.

The presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the dinner further underscored the political significance of the gathering. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won the election with a thumping majority in Bihar, securing even more seats predicted by almost all exit polls.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the largest party with 89 per cent strike rate. However, Mahagathbandhan, which comprised of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress, saw a humiliating drubbing as it could not even cross 50 mark.

“The results have inspired the (BJP) workers in Bengal. All three states are linked. We have conquered Odisha and Bihar; now it is Bengal. If you analyse the result of the Bihar elections, my view is that people are voting for the BJP. People are trying to stop the comeback of the ‘jungle raj’. So this time, people will eradicate the jungle raj from Bengal,” said BJP MP Sukanta Majumdar.

BJP Asansol MLA Agnimitra Paul also said, “The choice is very clear. We saw how the state was ruled during Lalu Prasad Yadav’s regime, women were abducted and raped. There was complete lawlessness. There was murder. That was a dark age of Bihar.”

Agnimitra Paul also drew comparisons between the law and order situation in the two neighbouring states and said, “So it is very clear that the people of Bihar do not want to go back to Lalu Prasad’s regime. Tejaswi ji, you, the son of Lalu Yadav, you have the same ideology, so people will never vote for you. People have seen two terms how NDA has worked, Narendra Modi is taking India forward. The choice is very clear, not only for Bihar, but for Bengal.”

Amit Shah’s Message: Now It’s Bengal’s Turn

According to sources, during the dinner, Amit Shah expressed his gratitude to all leaders and in-charges, emphasizing, “Even 1 percent of the vote is significant in an election, but no one should think that victory was solely due to that… Arrogance harms the party. Your role was ‘where there is less, there we are,’ and now you have to play the same role in Bengal.”

Shah’s words made it clear that the micro-management strategy, booth-level activism, and silent voter outreach that proved successful in Bihar will now be implemented in West Bengal.

PM Modi’s Hint and Shah’s Signal: Bengal in Focus

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had signaled that West Bengal is poised to be the next major political battlefield, referring to the “Ganga flowing from Bihar to Bengal.”

Combined with Amit Shah’s statements during the post-Bihar victory dinner, it is clear that the BJP intends to approach Bengal with the same strategic rigor, grassroots mobilisation, and targeted voter outreach that delivered a historic win in Bihar.

These coordinated signals leave no doubt that the party machinery is already being primed for a high-intensity campaign in the state.

Bihar to Bengal: Transfer of Power

The leaders and workers who mastered Bihar’s complex caste equations, managed booth-level operations, and neutralised opposition tactics will now be entrusted with the ground-level responsibilities in West Bengal.

By replicating the Bihar formula, the BJP aims to strengthen its presence in previously challenging constituencies, increase voter penetration, and capitalize on localized issues that resonate with the electorate.

The joint strategy of JP Nadda and Amit Shah, branded as ‘Operation Expansion’, involves deploying Bihar’s experienced teams, coordinating micro-level operations, and ensuring that the party’s organizational discipline and voter engagement mechanisms are effectively scaled in West Bengal.

Targeting TMC, Opposition, and Key Vote Banks

West Bengal’s political landscape is currently marked by internal instability within the Trinamool Congress (TMC), coupled with declining influence of the Left and Congress, creating a vacuum the BJP plans to exploit.

The party is also focusing on strategically important communities and regions, including the Matua community in North Bengal, which constitutes a significant voter base.

By leveraging the experience and tactical insights of Bihar’s ground teams, the BJP aims to consolidate these key vote banks, manage local alliances, and establish a strong foothold in constituencies that were historically difficult for the party.

The Bihar team’s proven ability in grassroots mobilisation, booth management, and voter persuasion is expected to act as a decisive force in shaping the upcoming electoral battles in Bengal.

However, political analysts closely tracking West Bengal elections are not very confident of the BJP sweeping West Bengal, given that in both states, the electorate has voted for pro-incumbency.

“We should keep in mind that NDA was in power in Bihar and Nitish Kumar was the chief minister, and people have voted for the pro-incumbent, if we look at past results. The same is true for West Bengal. The support goes for the incumbent,” said Udayan Bandyopadhyay.

“The results of Bihar have given them (BJP) confidence. However, organizationally in West Bengal, the BJP is not at par with Bihar, as the NDA was in power and has got administrative support. Here in Bengal, Trinamool Congress (TMC) is in power and has got support because it is the incumbent. In order to change the scenario, it is a long process of struggle, and the election results in other states do not affect them (TMC),” stated Bandhopadhyay.