BJP will not be able to bag even 50 seats in 2026 Bengal Assembly polls: TMC

Kolkata: After Union Home minister Amit Shah’s announcement that the BJP would secure a two-thirds majority in West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress has questioned his electoral predictions, citing past failures in the 2021 Bengal Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Pointing to Shah’s missed forecasts, the TMC posted on social media: “If history is any indication, this is excellent news for us… We couldn’t have asked for a better omen.” The party recalled that ahead of the 2021 Assembly polls, Shah had declared “Pakka 200 paar,” but the BJP ultimately won only 77 seats. Similarly, in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Shah had confidently predicted 30 seats for the BJP in Bengal, while the party managed to win just 12.

TMC Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien also highlighted Shah’s earlier electoral claims, including the 2018 Chhattisgarh Assembly election, where the BJP secured only 15 seats out of 90 despite Shah predicting a fourth consecutive win. O’Brien further cited Shah’s forecast before the 2020 Delhi Assembly polls, where he claimed the BJP would win over 45 seats, but the party ended up with just eight.

Echoing the criticism, state minister Bratya Basu said:“The BJP will not even cross the 50-mark in the upcoming Assembly polls and will face a humiliating defeat.”

During a Press conference, Shah raised the issue of infiltration, stating that “not a single infiltrator will be allowed.” Responding to this, TMC MP Saket Gokhale wrote that Shah was repeatedly admitting his own incompetence.

Referring to incidents such as Pahalgam and a recent Delhi blast, Gokhale questioned how infiltration continued under Shah’s tenure despite “double-engine governments” in Assam and Tripura.

Shah was also criticised for referring to West Bengal as a “gareeb rajya.” The TMC accused him of insulting Bengal’s cultural and revolutionary heritage, invoking icons such as Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam.

Senior TMC leader Shashi Panja rejected Shah’s claim that industries have died in Bengal, stating that the state attracted investments worth Rs 13.8 lakh crore between 2011 and 2025 under

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. She added that the BJP had no moral authority to comment on security issues, asserting that women remain safe in the state.