The West Bengal Assembly election marked a decisive shift in the state’s political landscape, with the BJP securing 207 of 294 seats and ending the dominance of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC). Party leaders maintain that the result was not a product of a fleeting wave or simple anti-incumbency, but the outcome of a carefully structured campaign that reconfigured long-standing voting patterns across regions.
Internal assessments conducted before the polls suggested that the TMC retained its advantage in constituencies with significant Muslim populations.
However, in over 170 other seats, the BJP held a lead of roughly three percentage points, indicating that its ground-level mobilisation and voter targeting were delivering results.
A central pillar of the BJP’s strategy was outreach to communities that felt politically marginalised. In North Bengal, comprising the districts of Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Uttar Dinajpur and Dakshin Dinajpur, the party consolidated support among Rajbanshi and Kurmi voters by promising recognition of their languages and cultural identities, including demands for inclusion in official frameworks.
Alongside identity politics, the BJP foregrounded economic concerns — promising better prices for potato and paddy farmers and assuring government employees that 7th Pay Commission benefits would be implemented within 45 days of coming to power.
In the tea garden regions of Darjeeling, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri, the BJP made notable gains, particularly among women voters. Many appeared to move away from TMC-backed direct benefit schemes, responding instead to promises centred on long-term financial stability, employment security and improved working conditions in plantations.
North Bengal is seen to be a BJP stronghold with some pockets where the TMC is seen to be strong. Here, the TMC failed to win even a single seat in many districts. The BJP swept Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri, winning all five seats in each of the districts.
Tackling the ‘outsider’ tag
The party also undertook a deliberate effort to reshape its image in urban centres such as Kolkata. Seeking to counter perceptions of being an “outsider”, BJP candidates adopted a more locally rooted approach, using Bangla in public engagements, participating in regional festivals and traditions, and holding interactions in residential complexes and neighbourhood associations. This helped bridge a cultural gap that had previously limited its appeal among urban voters.
Even in adjoining urban areas — traditionally seen to be TMC strongholds — the BJP’s “sons of the soil” positioning appeared to reduce resistance. By combining cultural adaptation with sustained outreach, it broadened its appeal among sections of the metropolitan middle class.
In districts such as Murshidabad and Malda, campaign messaging focused on localised concerns, including law and order and issues such as human trafficking. These themes resonated with voters who felt that governance challenges had not been adequately addressed under the TMC’s 15-year rule. Signalling a complete consolidation of the Dalit and Rajbanshi vote in its favour, the BJP won the Malda seat by over 50,000 votes.
Top leaders coordinate
The BJP’s campaign was coordinated by a tightly knit leadership team. Union Home Minister Amit Shah played a prominent role, spending extended periods in the state, holding multiple rallies and reviewing strategy. Senior leaders including Dharmendra Pradhan and Bhupender Yadav worked to align central leadership with state units, while organisational figures such as Sunil Bansal oversaw booth-level execution and campaign logistics.
According to BJP leaders, the party signaled a shift towards a more patient and methodical approach to winning the state by replacing Kailash Vijayvargiya with Bansal in August 2022 as West Bengal in-charge.
“Bansal’s strategy is built on granular data rather than grand speeches. Having led the party to successes in states like Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Telangana, he focuses minutely from on booth- to district-level strategy. With a focus on the over 80,000 polling stations across the state, the BJP had established functional committees in over 65,000 by late 2024. This is unprecedented for any Opposition in the state,” a source said.
Another source said that Yadav provided “strategic depth” and managed day-to-day coordination with workers. “He spent months traveling through several districts, connecting with local traditions which helped him navigate the socio-cultural fabric of the state more effectively,” the source added.
Former Tripura CM Biplab Deb also played a key role in the party’s campaign. Since the BJP workers from Tripura can speak Bangla, they were more useful in breaching the language barrier compared to the party’s workers mobilised from other states. These leaders were deployed at the booth-level and the district-level before the elections and during the campaign.
Their experience in handling booth mobilisation — the Tripura BJP overcame the Left there in 2018 — came in handy when the party had to train its panna pramukhs (roll in-charges). These booth workers were then selectively deployed to negate the TMC machinery. Deb, party insiders said, also reached out to Left workers unhappy at their marginalisation under the TMC.
A key organisational feature was also the expansion of the “panna pramukh” system — booth-level workers responsible for maintaining direct contact with small groups of voters. This structure enabled the party to sustain continuous engagement across constituencies and respond quickly to local concerns.
Using data to its advantage
Strategic planning also relied on detailed data mapping. Senior campaign managers reportedly used large constituency maps to track the movements of star campaigners, assigning different regions to leaders based on political requirements. This allowed for more efficient deployment of resources and ensured that even remote areas received attention during the campaign.
In the Junglemahal belt – Purulia, Jhargram, Bankura, Paschim Medinipur – the party focused on Kurmi representation, fielding local leaders such as Rajesh Mahato and Biswajit Mahato, while addressing issues like drinking water, housing and cultural recognition. This contributed to strong performances in districts such as Purulia and Jhargram.
The campaign narrative also emphasised economic development, with BJP leaders pointing to the untapped potential of sectors such as tea and cinchona plantations, coal belts and port infrastructure. They argued that industrial growth had slowed under the TMC and positioned their campaign as a pathway to renewed investment and employment.
