Mamata Banerjee did not lose because the electoral process had been subverted in West Bengal. She lost because democracy worked this time
After a relatively peaceful election, violence has once again raised its ugly head in West Bengal with the brutal killing of Chandranath Rath, a close aide of the BJP leader and the new Chief Minister, Suvendu Adhikari.
The resounding victory of the BJP in the West Bengal Assembly elections is a spectacular achievement; an outcome that has surpassed the expectations of even its most diehard fans and silenced the most vociferous of its critics. The margin of victory by which the BJP trounced the TMC is unprecedented: a lead of over 125 in a house of 294 and an electoral supremacy that was dominant in all regions of the state.
The million-dollar question, however, is what brought about this near miraculous turnaround? Political pundits have waxed eloquent on the factors that played a role, listing a host of reasons: anti-incumbency, the SIR advantage, Muslim vote fragmentation and finally Hindu consolidation.
That anti-incumbency alone was responsible for this massive upset is hard to believe. The SIR may have played a role as per the arithmetic put out by some political pundits and Muslim vote fragmentation may have contributed to the debacle of the TMC. But these are only minor elements. At the crux of this “poriborton” was Hindu consolidation: a Hindu consolidation prompted by large scale persecution that was ultimately expressed through the ballot box when violence was kept in check and the fear factor neutralized by the presence of security forces.
How and why did Hindu consolidation occur?
Hindu discontent had been simmering for some time in West Bengal, especially after the targeted anti-Hindu violence that was unleashed in the aftermath of the TMC victory in 2021.
It is important to recall a case from 2021 which went all the way up to Supreme Court, to highlight this persecution. In a rare verdict the Supreme Court cancelled the bail granted to TMC workers (Sekh Jamir Hossain, Sekh Nurai, Sekh Ashraf, Sekh Karibul and Jayanta Done) who had targeted Hindu families and their women for supporting BJP during the 2021 Assembly elections, calling it “grave attacks on the roots of democracy”. That particular incident pertains to what happened in Gumsima, a Muslim majority town on May 2 2021, when election results were announced in West Bengal. A mob entered the complainant’s residence, assaulted him, vandalized his house and disrobed his wife with an intent to molest her. When the complainants approached the local police station, instead of recording their FIR and acting on it, they were advised to flee the area. The SC concluded: “This is a grave circumstance which convinces us that the accused persons including the respondents herein were trying to terrorise the members of the opposite political party whom the accused respondents were supporting.”
Hindus continued to be harassed during the entire period of the last TMC government. In April 2025, hundreds of Hindus were forced to flee Murshidabad district by Muslim goons (read TMC supporters) and seek refuge in neighbouring districts. A father and son duo, Hargobind and Chandan Das were hacked to death by a Muslim mob—all 13 perpetrators of this double murder were recently given life sentences by a trial court.
Hindu anxieties were further heightened by what happened to Hindus in Muslim-majority Bangladesh after the fall of Sheikh Hasina in August 2024. Hindu homes were burnt, temples were destroyed and Hindus were lynched. The Muslim population in West Bengal has been gradually increasing (from 23% in 1991 to 27% in 2011) aided by illegal infiltration of Muslims from Bangladesh. For the Hindus of Bengal this was a wakeup call. Could their condition be reduced to the plight of Hindus in Bangladesh in a demographically altered West Bengal? Were the incidents of the last 5 years harbingers of things to come.
West Bengal is a violence prone state with regard to elections. A report from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a conflict-monitoring organisation, reveals that West Bengal has recorded more election-related violence than any other Indian state over the past six years. The 2021election was the bloodiest: 300 violent events and 58 deaths. The next closest was Andhra Pradesh in 2024 with 89 events and three deaths.
Bengal alone accounted for 35% of all election-related violence events in India (904 of 2,593) and 51% of all election-related fatalities (168 of 329) since 2020, including assembly, parliamentary and local elections.
Violence appears to be a part and parcel of the electoral process in Bengal, something which Mamata Banerjee and the TMC had cultivated vigorously to remain ensconced in power.
In contrast, in 2026 there were zero deaths reported till the time of polling, thanks to the deployment of a large contingent of security personnel to oversee the election. The record 92.3% turnout was the direct result of the protection provided by the armed police and the assurance that the police would remain for 60 days after the results are announced.
Mamata Banerjee did not lose because the electoral process had been subverted in West Bengal. She lost because democracy worked this time—people came out in large numbers to cast their votes without fear under the protection of security forces.
