BJP won’t cross 30 seats in 2026 Assembly polls: TMC
Kolkata: In response to the Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari’s claim that BJP targets to win 180 seats in the 2026 Assembly elections, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Friday predicted that the BJP will not cross 30 seats in the forthcoming Assembly
polls in Bengal.
Addressing a gathering in Tamluk, Adhikari recently claimed that the BJP would secure all 16 seats in East Midnapore district and significantly increase its overall tally. He urged BJP supporters to take oath to defeat the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC). Adhikari went ahead further and said he will make Mamata Banerjee a former Chief Minister
Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh dismissed Adhikari’s claim. Pointing to BJP’s 2021 performance, where it won 77 seats despite targeting more than 200 seats. BJP’s numbers have been declining and the party would not cross 30 seats in 2026, Ghosh asserted. “In 2021, they claimed that they would get 200 but in reality they managed to get only 77. Now they have come down to 60-62 seats in the Assembly. Before the elections, this number will shrink to 40. When they realize they won’t even get 30, they will lower the target again,” Ghosh added.
Trinamool Congress youth leader Debangshu Bhattacharya presented a different calculation. He calculated that BJP won around 38 per cent of its projected target in the 2021 Assembly elections and 34 per cent in the Lok Sabha polls. Applying this trend to Adhikari’s 180-seat claim, BJP’s seat count would be 61-68, Bhattacharya estimated. On social media he said: “If the Assembly trend continues, they may get 68 seats. If we follow the Lok Sabha trend, it
could be 61 seats.”
With an aim of 2026 Assembly elections, the ruling Trinamool Congress has already started its work at the ground level. Several steps have been initiated. The BJP is also trying to strengthen its support base which has been eroding. Adhikari’s 180-seat claim might be an attempt to revitalise their party workers.
In the 2021 Assembly elections, BJP contested all 294 seats but won 77, while TMC secured 213 seats. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP won 18 out of 42 seats in the state but dropped to 12 in 2024.
