KOLKATA (AFP): Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed a “record” victory on Monday in key elections in opposition-held West Bengal state after official trends and partial results showed a thumping majority for his Hindu nationalist party.
Votes were still being counted under tight security in the state of more than 100 million people, one of five states and territories that held elections in April and May where results were also being announced on Monday.
The results should put Modi on a stronger footing while he battles a series of economic and foreign policy challenges, including high unemployment rates and a pending US trade deal, ahead of a general election in 2029
In keenly fought West Bengal, where Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has never won before, the party was leading in 156 of the 293 seats and had won 48 others, according to the Election Commission of India.
“The 2026 West Bengal Assembly Elections will be remembered forever,” Modi said on social media. “People’s power has prevailed and BJP’s politics of good governance has triumphed.”
“BJP’s record win in West Bengal would not be possible without the efforts and struggles of countless Karyakartas (workers) over generations,” Modi said.
Senior party leaders and thousands of supporters celebrated on the streets of the state capital Kolkata, joyously swaying to victory tunes.
The BJP, the ruling party in the national parliament, waged an aggressive campaign to dislodge the powerful regional party of firebrand leader Mamata Banerjee, in power in West Bengal since 2011.
Scuffles broke out outside several counting centres in the state, and police used batons to control the crowd. Past elections have resulted in violence.
This campaign was marked by protests over the removal of millions of names from voter rolls, billed as removing ineligible voters but which critics said was skewed against marginalised and minority communities.
– ‘New face’ –
Veteran politician MK Stalin, chief minister of the southern state of Tamil Nadu, lost his seat in another major electoral shock.
Stalin’s ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) came a distant second behind a party floated by the actor-turned politician C. Joseph Vijay.
Vijay, 51, one of India’s most bankable actors, launched his TVK party in 2024 on the plank of youth employment and good governance in Tamil Nadu, a key industrial hub with more than 80 million people.
Results showed that Stalin, 73, had lost in his Kolathur stronghold to TVK’s V.S. Babu.
The trends indicated a surprise result for TVK in a state where most exit polls had suggested Stalin’s DMK would return to power.
“This result (in Tamil Nadu) shows that the youth want a new face. It is not just anti-incumbency,” political scientist Ramu Manivanan told AFP.
“Vijay as an actor has a large female fan base as a cinema star. All that has influenced the outcome,” Manivanan said.
In neighbouring Kerala, the Congress party-led alliance ousted the ruling Communists, bagging 63 out of 97 seats.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi thanked the people of Kerala for a “truly decisive mandate”.
He also heaped praise on party workers for ensuring a “hard-fought, well-run campaign”.
The BJP returned to power in the northeastern state of Assam and in the small coastal territory of Puducherry, where it was a part of the ruling coalition.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma celebrated a “hat-trick” of wins in the state of more than 31 million after the BJP sealed victory for the third successive time. — AFP
