Kolkata: The tragic loss of 33 lives due to floods and landslides in North Bengal on September 5, coupled with alleged attacks on BJP leaders by TMC workers, has intensified the political landscape in the region, setting the stage for the 2026 state assembly elections. The BJP currently holds a significant advantage in the assembly and Lok Sabha seats across North Bengal’s eight districts.
Bengal BJP unit president Samik Bhattacharya criticized Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s relief efforts as “futile attempts” and expressed confidence in his party’s continued dominance in the area. He stated, “Our party leaders are holding relief camps across the region. It remains our impregnable fortress.”
TMC’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s assertion that the BJP would win fewer than 50 seats in the 2026 state elections underscores the TMC’s strategic focus on North Bengal to achieve their electoral targets. Historical data shows the BJP’s strong performance in the region, securing seven out of eight Lok Sabha seats in 2019 and 30 out of 54 assembly seats in 2021, despite a dip in overall state performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls where they secured 12 seats but retained six in North Bengal.
The political tension escalated following attacks on Malda North MP Khagen Murmu and Siliguri MLA Shankar Ghosh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the incidents, calling them “appalling.” In response, Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of using a divisive “North Bengal vs South Bengal” narrative and suggested internal BJP conflicts might be a cause for the attacks.
TMC spokesperson Jay Prakash Majumdar highlighted the BJP’s past success in leveraging North Bengal as a campaign launchpad. He noted a decrease in the BJP’s vote share in the region during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, attributing it partly to the influx of defectors from other parties. Majumdar also emphasized the state government’s development projects in North Bengal, which he believes contributed to the TMC’s strong performance in recent local elections.
Political analyst Udayan Bandopadhyay observed organizational weaknesses within the BJP, suggesting that the perception of the party’s inability to unseat the TMC has led to a decline in their vote share. He found the absence of BJP workers during the attacks on their leaders “unthinkable in Bengal’s political culture.”