New Delhi, 04 May (H.S.): Vote counting is underway for the Assembly elections in five states, including West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has established a clear, possibly decisive advantage in both West Bengal and Assam from the initial rounds of counting. The party headquarters here is festooned with flags and bursting with celebration, as rank‑and‑file workers and party supporters anticipate a historic turnaround, especially in West Bengal, where the BJP appears poised to form its first government in the state.

As in previous elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address party workers and supporters from the BJP national headquarters on

Raisina Road in the evening. Senior party functionaries have confirmed that the Prime Minister is expected to reach the office at around 6:30 pm to greet the crowd and highlight the likely victory, particularly in Bengal, where the BJP is on course to oust the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) after more than a decade of uninterrupted power.

Preparations for Modi’s arrival are in full swing. The building has been decorated with saffron banners, buntings and party flags, and security has been tightened around the campus. The atmosphere inside and outside the headquarters is festive: drums, cymbals and chants of party slogans have filled the air since the morning, even as the final results are yet to be declared. Firecrackers have also been let off intermittently, reinforcing the sense of victory.

Inside the party office,

jhal‑muri, rasgulla and mishti‑doi (sweet curd), all emblematic of Bengal’s culinary culture, are being distributed among workers, underscoring the emotional and symbolic importance of the West Bengal tilt for the BJP.

In the midst of it all, some party workers have chosen to dramatise the changing political script: one activist was spotted wandering in the compound dressed in a Mamata Banerjee‑style white saree, re‑enacting a caricature of the outgoing chief minister, in a light‑hearted celebration of the expected dethroning. The moment encapsulated the mood of the day: a party that for years struggled to gain traction in Bengal now basking in the prospect of claiming power in the state.

From TMC dominance to BJP breakthrough

West Bengal has been governed by the Trinamool Congress continuously since 2011, with Mamata Banerjee at the helm as Chief Minister. The BJP’s rise, first through alliances in the Northeast and then via direct competition in West Bengal, has built steadily over the last decade, exploiting anti‑incumbency, welfare‑scheme competition and the emotive lines of the Citizenship Amendment Act‑related debate and the NRC‑CAB politics.

The current trends in West Bengal, where the BJP leads on a large majority of the 293 seats, and the figures in Assam, where the party again shows a strong tally in the 126‑member Assembly, suggest a consolidation of BJP dominance in eastern India.

In both states, the BJP is positioned to either win outright or to be the single largest party supported by regional allies, thereby reshaping the regional‑national balance in the coming years.

As the count heads toward finality, the BJP headquarters in New Delhi has become a live theatre of celebration, anticipation and political re‑imagining, with the Prime Minister’s evening address set to etch the narrative that the party has now arrived in Bengal in a way that few had predicted a decade ago.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar