May 5, 2026 is an important day for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party has not only emerged as the single largest party in West Bengal for the first time, but is also poised to win more than 200 of the state’s 293 constituencies.
Hailing a “bhay-mukt” Bengal on the occasion, PM Modi said the five states – Assam, Keralam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, which went to polls in 2026 – “showed why India is the mother of democracy”.
He also recalled his remark from 2013 when he was first nominated for the post of Prime Minister on a BJP ticket:
“No, I came, no one sent me, mother Ganga called me. PM Modi
Prime Minister Modi’s remarks could be roughly translated as: “I did not come alone, nor was anyone sent for me – Mother Ganga called me.”
Addressing a rally at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi on Monday evening, Prime Minister Modi said, “When the BJP gave me the opportunity to become the prime ministerial candidate in 2013, and when I went to Kashi to file my nomination, I was surrounded by reporters. That’s when a voice came from my heart and I told them, Na mai, no, mai bayaha ne mujhe bulaya hai.”
The BJP’s victory in Bengal is historic as the state was once ruled by the Left before Mamata Banerjee’s TMC took power a decade ago. Mamata Banerjee first came to power as the Chief Minister of West Bengal on 20 May 2011, ending the long rule of the Left government.
In the 2026 West Bengal elections, history was made again as the Election Commission of West Bengal data showed the BJP winning a whopping 206 seats, comfortably crossing the 148 majority mark.
Meanwhile, the TMC won 44 of the 81 seats it was leading at 8:00 PM on Monday.
Counting of votes began on Monday, May 4 for the assemblies of Assam, West Bengal, Keralam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. The BJP also improved its performance in Kerala.
Counting began at 8 am today in 823 constituencies in key regions including West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and the Union Territory of Puducherry. The process started with postal voting, followed by counting of electronic voting machines from 8:30 am, with the results continuously updated in real time on the ECINET platform and the official election commission portal.
