Bengalis shun Sonar Bangla to back daughter of the soil

For West Bengal, the BJP continues to be an “outsider” as Mamata Banerjee-led TMC registered its third consecutive win in the state which had witnessed one of the most acerbic and high-decibel campaigns by both the parties. Though the results indicated consolidation of minority votes in ruling TMC’s favour, the BJP, in terms of Assembly constituencies, gained overwhelmingly, with the party bagging more than

70 Assembly seats as compared to its previous tally of mere three seats in the

292-member Assembly.

Results proved that a majority of voters refused to ditch the “Daughter of Bengal” for the BJP’s promise of turning the state into “Sonar Bangla” and they also refused to accept the saffron party’s vision for “Asol Poribortan”.

In West Bengal, which has a history of personality driven politics, the BJP’s bevy of “star campaigners”, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, failed to overshadow Ms Banerjee’s personality and leadership despite anti-incumbency, charges of corruption and deteriorating law and order plaguing the ruling party.

The TMC had labelled the BJP as a party of “outsiders” and the latter failed miserably to gauge the mood of Bengalis.

After the results, Mr Modi, who was leading the charge against Ms Banerjee during the campaigning, tweeted: “Congratulations to Mamata Didi for AITC win in West Bengal. The Centre will continue to extend all possible support to the West Bengal government to fulfill people aspirations and also to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic.” The PM also thanked people of the state for blessing the BJP, whose “presence has significantly increased”.