KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress (TMC) National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday threw down the gauntlet to the BJP, claiming the party would fail to cross the 50-seat mark in the upcoming 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.
Speaking at a party meeting in Satgachia, South 24 Parganas district, Banerjee said, “In the 2021 Assembly elections, BJP somehow managed to win 77 seats. But in the 2026 elections, they will not cross 50. I usually do not make predictions, but when I do, by God’s grace and the people’s love, they often come true.”
Backing his statement, he pointed to the recent Lok Sabha election results: “I had said that Trinamool would get more seats in 2024 than we did in 2019 and that’s exactly what happened.”
Banerjee also took aim at the Centre, criticising the BJP-led Union government’s handling of national security. “They couldn’t even catch the four terrorists responsible for the Pahelgam terror attack,” he said.
In a pointed challenge to Union Minister and West Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumdar, Banerjee remarked, “If you contest 10 elections, your total winning margin still won’t match the 7 lakh votes I secured in Diamond Harbour in 2024.”
He also targeted Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, stating that the BJP’s electoral fortunes in Bengal had nosedived since Adhikari’s defection from TMC. “Since he joined BJP, they’ve been losing every election,” Banerjee claimed.
With Assembly elections just a year away, Banerjee’s bold assertions have set the stage for a fiery political contest in West Bengal.