DIDI AND BHATIJA SHOW SANGH PARIVAR THEIR PLACE

Abhishek's astute strategy, Mamata's charisma and welfare schemes have cut short the BJP's ambitions for Bengal and put TMC in pole position for 2026

- Arkamoy Datta Majumdar

IN the end, it was Didi who had the last laugh. On the evening of June 4, a little after the clock struck six, Mamata Banerjee climbed the stage erected on the backyard of her residence in Kalighat in Kolkata. Clad in a brown-bordered white saree, she looked sprightly even after attending 108 campaign events over 61 days. The joyous mood—with hundreds of slogan-raising Trinamool Congress (TMC) supporters caked in trademark green gulal—was welldeserved: under her, the TMC had emerged on top in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, wresting more than two-thirds of the 42 seats in Bengal. On the stage, she held the hand of her nephew and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, and congratulated him for his record victory from Diamond Harbour. Before flashing cameras, the TMC chairperson subtly sent out the message that Abhishek is now indubitably the flagbearer of her legacy.

In shaping the party’s campaign strategy, organisation and choice of candidates, Abhishek, after fashioning the 2021 assembly election win, has shaped yet another stunning victory. The BJP’s grand plan of breaching fortress Bengal lies in tatters once again. “He has won by over seven lakh votes. We should congratulate the people,” Mamata said.

From the opening of the poll season to its closing stages, what stood out was Abhishek’s calm confidence in a resounding TMC victory. On May 28, at a rally in Diamond Harbour, he had said that TMC had won 23 of the 33 seats that went to the polls in the first six phases. The Opposition leaders scoffed then, but were silenced as the ballots were counted. The joke is now on the exit polls that predicted a huge win for the BJP in Bengal. At the end of it all, the saffron camp looked a dismal sight—losing eight of the 18 seats it won in 2019 to the TMC, which finished with a morale-boosting 29, confirming its consummate hold over voters. The BJP was a distant second with 12 seats.