The political scene in India has just seen a big change. When a huge 92.8 percent of people voted in the round on April 23 everyone was waiting to see what would happen next.
Today we finally got our answer. The Bharatiya Janata Party has won seats to be in charge in the West Bengal Assembly, which means the Trinamool Congresss 15-year run is over.. The biggest surprise came from Kolkata.
The Bhabanipur Shockwave: Suvendu Strikes Again
In a contest that felt like what happened in Nandigram in 2021 the Bharatiya Janata Partys Suvendu Adhikari beat Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in her own area of Bhabanipur.
Early in the day the Chief Minister was ahead by over 17,000 votes after the round of counting.. As the day went on that lead started to disappear. In a close finish Adhikari came back and won by a big margin of 15,105 votes.
Suvendu Adhikari got 73,917 votes.
Mamata Banerjee got 58,812 votes.
With this win alongside his win in Nandigram Adhikari has shown that he is the person behind the Bharatiya Janata Partys success in the state. He is thanking the people of Bhabanipur for voting for him.
A Big Win for the Bharatiya Janata Party: Breaking the Majority Mark
The surprise in Bhabanipur is the part of a much bigger story. The Bharatiya Janata Party has won than half of the seats in the 294-member House.
The current numbers from the Election Commission show that the Bharatiya Janata Party has won a lot of seats with over 208 seats won or leading. This means the Trinamool Congress government is finished after three terms and the Bharatiya Janata Party will be in charge of West Bengal for the time.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked to the nation in the evening saying the win is a change in Indian politics. He also mentioned Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee.
"Today India wants opportunities. It wants to develop. It wants trust, progress and stability. Today India wants a kind of politics that helps the nation move forward.”. Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Drama and Accusations of Cheating
The big win has not come without controversy. As the Trinamool Congress started to lose throughout the afternoon there was chaos at the Sakhawat Memorial counting hall.
Mamata Banerjee criticized the Election Commission questioning how the counting was done.
"Do you think this is a win? It is not a win. Than 100 seats were taken away. The Election Commission is working for the Bharatiya Janata Party.”. Mamata Banerjee
The Trinamool Congress chief said that CCTV cameras were turned off and her partys counting agents were forced out of the venue. These claims of cheating were supported by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who agreed with Banerjee that the election was "stolen."
What's Next for West Bengal?
As things calm down after one of the fiercely contested elections West Bengal is getting ready for a big change in power. The split in the minority vote combined with a voter turnout has changed the political map.
The coming days will be very important as the Bharatiya Janata Party gets ready to take charge and the Trinamool Congress tries to recover from a loss, in areas they thought were safe.