Kolkata, May 05 (V7N) — India’s national ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has secured a decisive victory in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, winning 167 out of 293 contested seats, according to the Election Commission of India.

The incumbent All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, managed to secure only 59 seats, marking a dramatic political shift in the eastern Indian state. A party requires 148 seats to form the government, confirming that the BJP will establish its first-ever administration in West Bengal since India’s independence.

Voting took place in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with a high voter turnout and intense political campaigning. Pre-election projections from the TMC had suggested a comfortable victory for the ruling party, but the final results indicate a strong voter swing in favor of the BJP.

The outcome brings an end to Mamata Banerjee’s 15-year tenure in power. In a significant personal setback, she lost her seat in Bhabanipur to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari. Banerjee received 55,782 votes, while Adhikari secured 66,785 votes, winning by a margin of 11,003 votes.

In Nandigram, another key battleground, Suvendu Adhikari maintained a strong lead, defeating TMC-backed candidate Pabitra Kar by a margin exceeding 10,000 votes. Earlier, senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee had predicted a TMC victory in the constituency, but the results contradicted that claim.

The Nandigram seat has remained politically sensitive since the 2021 state election, where Mamata Banerjee contested against Adhikari but lost by a narrow margin of 1,956 votes. The result had led to a legal challenge in the Calcutta High Court, which remains unresolved even five years later.

This election result signals a major political transformation in West Bengal, reshaping the state’s leadership landscape and strengthening the BJP’s foothold in eastern India.

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