On May 4, the Bharatiya Janata Party won a historic victory in West Bengal, a state it had never governed before. The BJP secured 207 seats out of 294 constituencies, ending 15 years of rule by Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress party. Banerjee, known as "Didi" by supporters, had previously ended 34 years of Communist government in 2011. She lost her own seat to Suvendu Adhikari, a former minister who defected to the BJP and is now Chief Minister.
The election was marked by unusual circumstances. Before voting, the Election Commission carried out a major voter-list review called the Special Intensive Revision. Nearly 2.7 million voters were removed from the rolls in West Bengal, affecting about 12% of the state's electorate. Opposition parties claimed these deletions disproportionately removed Muslim voters, while the BJP argued they targeted illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
Despite the removals, turnout remained very high at around 93%. The BJP received approximately 45.84% of votes cast. The victory was part of a broader political shift across India, with the BJP now governing or co-governing 21 of India's 28 states.
In other state elections, Tamil Nadu saw a surprising result when film star C. Joseph Vijay's new party won 108 seats, breaking a 59-year dominance by two traditional parties. Only in Kerala did the BJP face defeat, as the Congress-led alliance returned to power.