In a first, BJP gets its chief minister in 4 most populous states in India — and 7 of top 10 – Firstpost

“From Gangotri to Ganga Sagar, only the lotus blooms,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday while addressing party workers after the results of key state elections were declared.

His remark captured the scale of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s
latest electoral gains, which have further strengthened its footprint across the country.

The BJP achieved a historic breakthrough in West Bengal, winning 206 out of 294 seats and positioning itself to form the government in a state long seen as politically difficult terrain for the party. The victory is symbolically significant as well, given that the party’s founder,
Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, hailed from the state.

In Assam, the party also improved its performance, securing 82 seats—22 more than in the previous election in 2021. The result has surprised many political pundits, especially after a decade of BJP rule in the northeastern state.

With the BJP set to form the government in West Bengal, the party has reached a new milestone. It will now have chief ministers in India’s four most populous states—Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, and West Bengal.

Among the top 10 most populous states, the BJP will have governments in seven. Apart from the four, it is also in power in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, while its ally, the Telugu Desam Party, governs Andhra Pradesh. In contrast, Karnataka is ruled by the Congress, while Tamil Nadu is likely to see a government led by actor C. Joseph Vijay’s party.

The latest round of victories has given the BJP and its allies power in 22 of India’s 28 states, along with two of the three union territories with legislatures—marking a level of political dominance not seen since the 1960s.

Strategy behind the success

Since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP’s election strategy, often associated with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, has focused on micro-management, booth-level planning, and data-driven campaigning. This approach has helped the party build a strong and consistent electoral machine.

Party leaders say grassroots efforts played a key role in the latest win. Shakti Singh, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha’s West Bengal in-charge told Firstpost that dedicated karyakartas were central to the campaign.

He said workers from different states were deployed on the ground for months, highlighting the scale of the party’s organisational push. He himself, hailing from UP, has been stationed in Bengal from the past six months.

Instead of relying only on large rallies, the BJP’s campaign has increasingly focused on hyper-local structures, including the “panna pramukh” system, where workers are assigned specific groups of voters.

This booth-level engagement, combined with strong central messaging, appears to have contributed significantly to the party’s continued electoral success.