With Bengal heading into the second and final phase of polling on Wednesday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is setting its sights on the Bhabanipur seat, the home turf of Mamata Banerjee, and is confident of securing a victory there, a senior party source said.
In the second phase, the BJP is also hopeful of winning a significant number of seats in the Matua belts of North 24 Parganas and Nadia, as well as in Howrah and Hooghly. The party expects to perform strongly in the Bengal Presidency region, targeting at least 40 of the 108 seats going to polls, along with five of the 11 core Kolkata seats, sources added.
In 2021, the All India Trinamool Congress had won 123 seats out of the 142 that are voting in this phase, while the BJP secured 18 and the Indian Secular Front (ISF) won one.
The BJP’s central leadership is also optimistic about its performance in the first phase, expressing confidence in sweeping eight of the 16 districts that went to polls on April 23. Overall, voting was held last week for 152 of the state’s 294 seats.
“Bhabanipur is a bad choice for Mamata Banerjee, with 40,000 Marwari and Gujarati voters in the Assembly constituency,” a senior central leader said. The Chief Minister herself has, on several occasions, stated that a large number of electors were dropped from the rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The constituency has a cosmopolitan demographic, including a sizeable Gujarati and Marwari population.
Explaining the anti-incumbency factor, BJP leaders argued that the Trinamool Congress faces voter fatigue across the state. “Mamata Banerjee will be the main factor behind the defeat of the Trinamool Congress, and anti-incumbency is high,” a senior BJP leader said.
The SIR exercise has further complicated the electoral landscape for the Trinamool Congress and the Chief Minister. A total of 47,111 voters were removed from the final electoral roll published on February 28, while another 14,154 voters remain under judicial adjudication.
In 2024, the Trinamool Congress also trailed in Corporation Ward No. 73, where both Mamata Banerjee and party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee are registered voters.
The BJP expects to dominate in districts such as Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar in North Bengal; Bankura and Purulia in the Junglemahal region; and Purba and Paschim Medinipur in South Bengal. Notably, Paschim Medinipur has traditionally been a Trinamool stronghold. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has claimed that the party would win 110 seats in the first phase.
In North 24 Parganas, particularly in the Matua belt areas of Bongaon and Gaighata, several seats are expected to tilt in favour of the BJP, according to party sources.
In the second phase, the BJP is also hopeful of winning a significant number of seats in the Matua belts of North 24 Parganas and Nadia, as well as in Howrah and Hooghly. The party expects to perform strongly in the Bengal Presidency region, targeting at least 40 of the 108 seats going to polls, along with five of the 11 core Kolkata seats, sources added.
In 2021, the All India Trinamool Congress had won 123 seats out of the 142 that are voting in this phase, while the BJP secured 18 and the Indian Secular Front (ISF) won one.
The BJP’s central leadership is also optimistic about its performance in the first phase, expressing confidence in sweeping eight of the 16 districts that went to polls on April 23. Overall, voting was held last week for 152 of the state’s 294 seats.
“Bhabanipur is a bad choice for Mamata Banerjee, with 40,000 Marwari and Gujarati voters in the Assembly constituency,” a senior central leader said. The Chief Minister herself has, on several occasions, stated that a large number of electors were dropped from the rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The constituency has a cosmopolitan demographic, including a sizeable Gujarati and Marwari population.
Explaining the anti-incumbency factor, BJP leaders argued that the Trinamool Congress faces voter fatigue across the state. “Mamata Banerjee will be the main factor behind the defeat of the Trinamool Congress, and anti-incumbency is high,” a senior BJP leader said.
The SIR exercise has further complicated the electoral landscape for the Trinamool Congress and the Chief Minister. A total of 47,111 voters were removed from the final electoral roll published on February 28, while another 14,154 voters remain under judicial adjudication.
In 2024, the Trinamool Congress also trailed in Corporation Ward No. 73, where both Mamata Banerjee and party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee are registered voters.
The BJP expects to dominate in districts such as Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar in North Bengal; Bankura and Purulia in the Junglemahal region; and Purba and Paschim Medinipur in South Bengal. Notably, Paschim Medinipur has traditionally been a Trinamool stronghold. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has claimed that the party would win 110 seats in the first phase.
In North 24 Parganas, particularly in the Matua belt areas of Bongaon and Gaighata, several seats are expected to tilt in favour of the BJP, according to party sources.
