Mission Bengal Launched, BJP Targets 160+ Seats With Strategic Campaign
BJP outlines “Mission Bengal,” targeting 160+ seats next year with a strategy focused on Trinamool workers.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has shifted its focus eastward from a triumphant Bihar assembly sweep to intensifying 'Mission Bengal' for the 2026 West Bengal polls, slated for March-April, with sources indicating an ambitious target of 160-170 seats out of 294 to unseat Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC). Buoyed by securing over 200 seats in Bihar through meticulous caste arithmetic and organizational prowess, the BJP aims to replicate elements of that success while adapting to Bengal's unique socio-political landscape, where caste plays a lesser role and regional identity dominates. Party insiders revealed to NDTV that the strategy emphasizes eroding TMC's grassroots machinery by poaching disloyal workers rather than high-profile defectors, alongside highlighting dynastic politics exemplified by Banerjee's nephew Abhishek's perceived imposition as heir apparent—a narrative the BJP plans to weaponize to portray TMC as elitist and out of touch with Bengal's egalitarian traditions.
Unlike the 2021 elections, where the BJP lured turncoats like Suvendu Adhikari—who famously ousted Banerjee from Nandigram—the current blueprint avoids such moves, deeming them low-yield for vote-share gains but disruptive to internal dynamics. Instead, the focus is on swelling cadre ranks with TMC foot soldiers lacking allegiance to Abhishek Banerjee, enabling more intensive booth-level campaigning across the state's 91,000 polling stations, where BJP committees already cover 70,000. This worker-centric approach, coupled with a pending Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists expected to purge up to one crore bogus or deceased entries akin to Bihar's cleanup, is projected to bolster organizational efficiency without alienating existing leaders. High-profile orchestration falls to Union ministers Bhupendra Yadav and former Tripura CM Biplab Kumar Deb, with national general secretary Sunil Bansal fortifying the state unit since 2022.
The BJP's electoral calculus hinges on a 6-7% vote-share surge from TMC's 48% in 2021, targeting consolidation in 141 core constituencies where it led in recent Lok Sabha and assembly polls, plus 47 swing seats. Northern and southern districts, including the Matua-Dalit belt in Nadia and North 24 Parganas, Hooghly, Purulia, Bankura, and Midnapores, form the bedrock, leveraging Suvendu Adhikari's influence in the latter. To counter TMC's Muslim vote dominance in 30-40 seats (about 14% of the assembly), the party banks on Hindu polarization elsewhere, framing itself as a cultural custodian through localized slogans like "Joy Maa Kali" and "Joy Maa Durga" over "Jai Shri Ram" to resonate with Bengali ethos. The 'outsider' trope cuts both ways: BJP accuses Banerjee of lax borders enabling Bangladeshi infiltration for votes, while TMC brands the Gujarat-centric BJP as "anti-Bengal"; the saffron brigade plans to flip this by spotlighting TMC's induction of non-Bengali MPs like Shatrughan Sinha.
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Cultural and digital outreach forms a parallel thrust, with the BJP unveiling festivals from December 2025 to February 2026—an art extravaganza in Kolkata, theater in early December, music in late December, painting in January, and films through February—to woo intellectuals, artists, and youth, shedding its "non-Bengali" image. A state-specific website, namoyavawarriors.com, mobilizes online warriors for virtual campaigns, while RSS coordination ensures synergy, including centenary events and Geeta Path recitals to consolidate Hindu votes (70% of the electorate). Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "four-pronged strategy"—addressing demographic shifts via an anti-infiltration mission, economic development, inclusivity, and national security—will anchor mega rallies: two monthly, one each by Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, starting with Shah's December review post-December 19. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's impending visit underscores ideological groundwork.
This multi-layered blueprint, refined in recent RSS-BJP huddles led by national organizer B.L. Santosh, prioritizes "Bengal First, Bengali First" to celebrate local pride and promise a "double-engine government" for women and youth welfare, contrasting TMC's alleged corruption and law-and-order lapses. Observers note the BJP's evolution from three MLAs in 2016 to 77 in 2021 (38% vote share) and 18 Lok Sabha seats in 2019 (40%), despite a 2024 federal dip to six seats, positioning it as a credible challenger. TMC dismisses it as "theatrics," but with Modi's star power and Bihar's momentum, the BJP eyes a morale-boosting upset, potentially installing its own chief minister in a state long dominated by regional satraps. Success, however, demands flawless execution amid TMC's entrenched base and Bengali identity politics.
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