A day after the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections 2026, Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday made a bold prediction. Addressing a press conference, he said, "The BJP's Bengal team has conducted its assessment. Based on this, I can say that out of 152 seats, the BJP is likely to win more than 110. Taking the second phase into account as well, the BJP is set to form the government in Bengal," he said.
Notably, West Bengal's first-phase polls saw the highest-ever voter turnout. HM Shah urged voters in the second phase to vote according to their will, without fear.
Lauding the ECI, he said, "The Election Commission has made excellent arrangements to ensure there is no rigging in the voting process. Forget the old elections, vote for Bengal's bright future and form a BJP government."
Countering Mamata Banerjee's outsider narrative, HM Shah said, "Bengal's CM is spreading rumours that if BJP comes to power in Bengal, the outsiders will rule."
"I want to tell didi, the next Chief Minister of Bengal will be someone who was born in Bengal, educated in the Bengali medium and will be able to speak Bengali. The only thing is that your nephew will not be there, the Chief Minister will be aBJP worker," he added.
The voter turnout in the first phase has been recored at 92.9%, highest since 1947.
The second phase of voting in the West Bengal Assembly elections will be held on 29 April, and the counting of votes for Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, and West Bengal will take place on 4 May.
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