BJP Consolidates Power in West Bengal as TMC Splits

In the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a decisive victory, reshaping the state's political landscape. In the aftermath, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has rapidly disintegrated: roughly 58 of its 80 legislators have broken away, and 20 TMC MPs have announced support for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). TMC leaders describe the defection as a coordinated “operation” by the BJP, citing inducements and parallel structures.

The internal collapse of the TMC is providing the BJP with a weakened opposition in India’s most volatile large state, reducing organized dissent and limiting the TMC’s ability to mobilise minority and rural voters. Analysts note that the vacuum left by the TMC could be filled by the Left and Congress parties, potentially reshaping anti‑BJP alliances.

The political dynamics are further complicated by recent turmoil in neighboring Bangladesh, where the fall of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government has led to a surge in Islamist radicalism and a record gain for Jamaat‑e‑Islami in parliament. The BJP has leveraged anti‑migration rhetoric, linking Bangladeshi illegal migration (“Ghuspet”) to demographic changes in West Bengal, heightening the issue’s prominence in the state’s political discourse.