Several hours into counting for the West Bengal Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continued to project confidence on Monday, with leaders claiming the party was on course to form the government as trends stabilised through the morning.
As counting moved past the initial rounds, the contours of the contest began to emerge more clearly, even as both the BJP and the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) watched closely for shifts in key constituencies.
Speaking to news agency ANI, BJP’s West Bengal president Samik Bhattacharya said party workers were seeing their long-held expectations nearing reality. “The dreams of the BJP workers are about to come true. The dream of forming a government from Gangotri to Ganga Sagar is going to be fulfilled today. The government will be formed and will remain in place… Didi is sure to take a rest. It will happen,” he said.
Salt Lake, West Bengal: As vote counting is underway in West Bengal, BJP State President Samik Bhattacharya says, “The formation of the government is certain.” pic.twitter.com/25jHheL2eb
— IANS (@ians_india) May 4, 2026
BJP ahead in trends as counting progresses across constituencies
According to trends cited by the Election Commission of India, the BJP-led alliance was leading on 78 seats, while Mamata Banerjee-led TMC was ahead in 43 constituencies. Its ally, BGPM, was leading in one seat.
Television projections through the morning suggested a stronger showing for the BJP, placing it around 185 seats, comfortably above the halfway mark of 148 in the 294-member Assembly. The TMC was projected to be leading in about 106 seats.
Bhattacharya noted that fluctuations were part of the counting process but insisted the overall direction was clear. “Everyone is awake. Workers everywhere are awake. We want Didi to unwind and rest a little. The election is over now. The results are about to come. There will be ups and downs. Early trends are here,” he said.
Adhikari expects Bhabanipur race to tilt after initial rounds
Leader of the Opposition and BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari also sounded optimistic, particularly about his chances in Bhabanipur, where he said the contest may appear tight in the early rounds but would shift in his favour.
“BJP is forming the Government. Initial trends show BJP as 135 plus and approx 100 to TMC. Initially, it will be a neck-to-neck fight in Bhabanipur. In the first round of counting, out of the 14 booths, 6 are Muslim-majority. They used to get 90-95% of those votes last time, but it didn’t happen this time; there is a crack. I am leading the 8 Hindu booths. From round 9-10 in Bhabanipur, I will be leading,” he told reporters.
He attributed the party’s performance to anti-incumbency and changing voting patterns. “There is anti-incumbency, plus Hindus are consolidated in favour of the Lotus. This is a very good signal for us… There has also been a Muslim vote bifurcation, especially in Malda, Mushidabad and Uttar Dinajpur,” he added.
The elections saw record participation, with Phase II registering 91.66 per cent polling, the highest since Independence, and Phase I recording 93.19 per cent turnout. The combined voter turnout stood at 92.47 per cent, reflecting significant public engagement in the electoral exercise.