'Bihar done, up next West Bengal': Ousting Mamata Banerjee the next big focus for BJP

After defying all exit polls and emerging with a stunning 125 seats in a 243-member Bihar assembly, the BJP-led NDA alliance will now turn its eyes to West Bengal, where elections will be held next year. The BJP, with 74 seats, had emerged the single-largest party in Bihar. 

PM Narendra Modi himself made clear his party's intentions while addressing BJP workers following the Bihar electoral victory. He attributed the NDA's win in Bihar to its mantra of "sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas" and also launched a veiled attack on the West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress, saying those who cannot challenge the saffron party democratically have resorted to "murdering" its workers to realise their goals.

Assembly polls are due in the first half of 2021 in West Bengal, a politically crucial state where BJP hopes to come to power for the first time by ending Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's 10-year old rule.

He raised the issue of alleged political murders targeting saffron party members. "People in some parts of the country think that they will realise their goals by murdering BJP workers. I will appeal to them to see reason. I need not warn them as people will do this. Polls come and go, win and loss happen but this killing game cannot work in a democracy. This cannot get you votes. They should see the writing on the wall," Modi said, without naming any party. The BJP has been accusing the TMC of resorting to killing its workers to terrorise its members, a charge the state's ruling party has rejected.

West Bengal will be the "prime focus" for BJP where it has set a target of winning more than 200 out of the total 294 seats in the state elections due in April-May 2021, party national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said on Wednesday. "The party will now shift its focus to politically crucial West Bengal, which sends 42 MPs to the Lok Sabha," Vijayvargiya, who is also BJP's in-charge of Bengal, said.

The BJP, which has made deep inroads in West Bengal by winning 18 of its 42 Lok Sabha seat, four less than ruling TMC in the 2019 general election, was waiting for the Bihar election results before mounting its "final assault" on the Mamata Banerjee government, according to reports.