Fresh off a resounding landslide in Bihar, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is now setting its sights on the high-stakes West Bengal Assembly elections slated for March/April 2026. Senior party strategists have confirmed to The News Gateway that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to formally launch the Bengal campaign in the second week of December, with a mega rally planned in Hooghly’s Arambag.
Unlike Bihar, where the saffron surge swept effortlessly across the state, Bengal presents a far tougher battlefield. Party insiders admit that cracking Bengal’s political fortress will demand grit, strategy and relentless ground work-far from the “cakewalk” witnessed in Bihar.
A top BJP functionary emphasized that the BJP’s strategy will center on uniting Hindu voters, many of whom, despite facing intimidation and exploitation at the hands of unruly groups allegedly shielded by the ruling establishment, have remained restrained and less vocal. The BJP’s campaign spotlight will be firmly on the alleged law-and-order breakdowns, with the party branding the situation as “Jungle-Raj under TMC”. Besides, women’s safety will also emerge as the defining issue in the upcoming assembly elections. Despite Bengal being led by a woman chief minister, the party intends to spotlight what it calls daily atrocities against women, the RG tax scandal, the horrific gang rape of a medical student in Durgapur and the broader collapse of law and order as central themes of its campaign.
Notably, during his congratulatory speech following the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) sweep of Bihar in a recent rally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said, “Bengal bhi mukt hoga Jungle-Raj se jald.” Modi had drawn a striking parallel, noting that just as the Ganga flows from Bihar into Bengal, so too will the BJP’s electoral wave surge eastward. As the opening move in its ambitious “Mission Bengal,” the party is set to deploy only its most formidable leaders to spearhead the campaign. Insiders reveal that organizational muscle is the BJP’s immediate priority. Out of Bengal’s 91,000 polling booths, the party has already established committees in nearly 70,000, signaling a ground-level push designed to convert momentum into victory. State unit leaders have been directed to steer clear of needless rhetoric and avoid being ensnared by the Trinamool’s attempts to spin its own narrative aimed at swaying Bengal’s electorate.
With laser focus on the upcoming Bengal elections and after intense rounds of strategy sessions, the BJP has entrusted Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav with the role of poll in-charge for the state. Joining him as co-incharge is former Tripura Chief Minister and Lok Sabha MP Biplab Kumar Deb, signaling the party’s intent to deploy its most seasoned leaders for the Bengal battle.
Although the BJP has yet to formally roll out its campaign in West Bengal, the party’s rank and file is already in battle mode and its top brass has begun taking direct aim at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. A striking example came from Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, whose fiery denunciation of Mamata’s “misrule” accused her of minority appeasement, targeting Hindus and worsening conditions for women. The outburst underscores a clear signal from the BJP high command: leaders from BJP-ruled states have been tasked with unleashing blistering attacks on Mamata Banerjee as the Bengal campaign heats up.
Notably, at a recent high-level strategy meeting held at BJP’s national president Jagat Prakash Nadda’s Delhi residence, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had delivered a decisive message to galvanize the Bengal unit. Reinforcing the party’s renewed thrust on “Mission Bengal,” Shah announced, “We must go where our organisational strength is weak. Reaching people directly is the key. BJP has witnessed a rapid rise, from just three seats earlier to 77 seats in the 2021 Assembly polls. The BJP has found solid ground in Bengal. The foundation is ready and now we must build on it”, Shah asserted.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged party MPs in West Bengal to keep the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls simple and controversy-free. Stressing transparency, Modi reminded them that the exercise is meant solely to ensure eligible voters are duly included and ineligible names removed-nothing more, nothing less. Significantly, the Opposition has mounted sustained protests against the ongoing SIR across 12 states. The issue is set to escalate further, with a full-fledged debate on electoral reforms-anchored around the SIR scheduled in both Houses of Parliament next week.
During a meeting with the delegation of West Bengal MPs-including state BJP chief Shamik Bhattacharya and Union Ministers Shantanu Thakur and Sukanta Majumdar-Modi pressed for a sharper focus on Bengal’s local issues. He urged MPs to intensify grassroots engagement, reminding them that the BJP’s steady ascent has cemented its role as the state’s principal Opposition force. Modi also sought updates on the recent attack against BJP leader Khagen Murmu, underscoring that vigilance and resilience will be critical as the campaign momentum builds.
As the BJP sharpens its “Mission Bengal” blueprint-deploying heavyweight leaders, strengthening booth-level organization and intensifying grassroots engagement-the party is signaling that the road ahead will be fought with discipline and determination. In essence, this marks the crux of the BJP’s Bengal strategy-discipline, grassroots strength and relentless focus as the party gears up for the 2026 poll battle. And now with Modi and Shah setting the tone and the Opposition bracing for a showdown over electoral reforms, West Bengal is poised to become the next high-voltage battleground in India’s political landscape.
