‘Looted mandate’: Opposition alleges BJP 'stole' West Bengal, Assam elections

As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stormed to power in West Bengal with a historic victory in assembly election and led the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to a hat-trick in Assam, Opposition leaders alleged widespread election malpractices.

Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi claimed that more than 100 seats in West Bengal were “stolen”, echoing the concerns of Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee.

“Assam and Bengal are clear cases of the election being stolen by the BJP with the support of the Election Commission. We agree with Mamata ji. More than 100 seats were stolen in Bengal,” Gandhi said in a post on X. 

Referring to previous elections in Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, he added: “We have seen this playbook before. Chunav chori, sanstha chori — ab aur chara hi kya hai! (Election theft, institutional theft — what is the option now).”

Earlier, Mamata Banerjee had described the BJP’s West Bengal win as “immoral”, alleging that the mandate in over 100 constituencies was “looted”.

“BJP looted more than 100 seats. The Election Commission is the BJP's commission. I complained to the CO and also Manoj Agrawal, but they are not doing anything. Do you think this is a victory? It is an immoral victory, not a moral victory,” she said, adding: “It is loot, loot, loot. We will bounce back.”

Banerjee’s remarks came after her shocking defeat in Bhabanipur, a TMC stronghold, where BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari won by over 15,000 votes.

Other Opposition leaders, including Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal, also accused the BJP of “stealing” elections, citing the Election Commission’s role, deployment of Central Armed Police Forces, and alleged voter disenfranchisement.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah alleged that irregularities in voter list revisions, along with the misuse of administrative machinery, money, and muscle power, significantly influenced the outcome. He added that the names of lakhs of her supporters were omitted from the rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

"The BJP's victory in West Bengal raises serious concerns about the health of India's democratic system. Its reliance on religious polarisation continues to undermine democratic values," he said.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav slammed the outcome of Assembly elections in West Bengal, alleging misuse of the electoral process and calling the developments a "black day" in the country's political history.

"Har farebi fatehi ki ek miyaad hoti hai, ye baat hi sachchai ki buniyaad hoti hai (Every deceptive victory has an expiry date and this is the foundation of truth)," Yadav said in a post on X.

Akhilesh further alleged that central forces were misused during the counting process in West Bengal.

"The kind of manipulation carried out in the name of electoral arrangements in Bengal today was similarly witnessed in most places during the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections," he said.