Major gains for BJP in West Bengal, Mamata fails to prevent Modi wave in home turf

Lok Sabha 2019

While the numbers may still look respectable for the Trinamool supremo, she has been outwitted by Modi-Amit Shah duo in her own backyard.

TNM Staff

Making its victory only sweeter in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has won a massive 18 seats in Bengal, a significant improvement from its best ever tally of two seats in 2014. Not even the third horse in the race until the 2016 Assembly elections, the BJP was engaged in a neck-and neck fight in another 20 seats.As Narendra Modi is all set to retain the Prime Minister's seat with a resounding majority, this is another unprecedented feat that the Amit Shah-Narendra Modi duo has managed to pull off. The overwhelming saffron surge has left the ruling Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee understandably humiliated, and the erstwhile ruling Left staring at a blank. After an election campaign marred by violence and spanning across seven phases, the Trinamool Congress has been reduced to 22 seats, down from its 2014 tally of 34. The Congress has been made to settle for two seats. Many heavyweights and sitting MPs like former Rail Minister Dinesh Trivedi faced defeats from erstwhile TMC leaders who recently joined the saffron fold. In an acknowledgement of sorts, Mamata tweeted, “Congratulations to the winners. But all losers are not losers. We have to do a complete review and then we will share our views with you all. Let the counting process be completed fully and the VVPATs matched.” 17 rallies addressed by the PM and party president Amit Shah seem to have paid its dividends as this result has matched the exit poll predictions even to the surprise of the state leadership. The BJP seems to have been clinical in converting its gains in vote shares to seats. The party has improved its vote share by more than 25% from the 2016 Assembly elections. The Left has been wiped off the map. While numbers may still suggest a numerical superiority for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her party, the surge of the Lotus signifies the tectonic shift from Left to Right in what was once a red bastion.

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