BJP Wins West Bengal Assembly Elections, Toppling Trinamool Congress

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has secured a landslide victory in the West Bengal assembly elections, ending the 15-year rule of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC).

Key points

• BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari defeated Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the Bhabanipur constituency by 15,105 votes.
• Suvendu Adhikari also secured a victory in the Nandigram assembly seat.
• The BJP is projected to win 204 seats, while the TMC is trailing with 81 seats.
• The election results triggered widespread celebrations among BJP supporters and reports of post-poll violence in various parts of the state.

Why it matters

This result marks a significant political shift in West Bengal, ending a decade and a half of TMC governance and signaling a major expansion of the BJP's influence in the region.