BJP maintains it has doubled seat count, will defeat TMC in LS polls

NEW DELHI: Buoyed by winning a ‘double number of seats’ this time as compared to the last panchayat elections held in 2018, the BJP is now claiming that it will defeat Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Speaking to IANS, a senior BJP leader said that the message of this victory in the panchayat elections is very clear that the BJP’s position has strengthened in the rural areas and if this trend continues, the BJP can become the state's number one party in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, leaving the TMC behind.

Responding to a question on the estimated number of seats the party will contest, he said that the BJP will contest all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state, claiming that the party will win 22 to 25 seats.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, BJP could win only two seats in West Bengal with about 17 per cent votes, while in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, it won 18 seats with 40.64 per cent votes.

However, Mamata Banerjee's party remained number one in the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections with 43.69 percent votes and 22 Lok Sabha MPs. In such a situation, the BJP's claim of winning 22-25 Lok Sabha seats in 2024 is definitely not less than a warning bell for Mamata Banerjee.

Several BJP leaders including Union Home Minister Amit Shah and national organization general secretary BL Santosh reacted after the party’s performance in the West Bengal panchayat elections.

On July 12, BL Santosh tweeted, “Congratulations to the BJP Bengal team for winning around 10100 gram panchayat wards with 24 per cent vote share.” He also claimed to bring democracy in its true spirit to the state in tandem with development with this mandate.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah met West Bengal BJP president Sukant Majumdar on Friday and congratulated him for the party's ‘excellent performance’.

It is being said that Amit Shah will soon visit West Bengal and brainstorm with the party leaders regarding preparations for the Lok Sabha elections, hold rallies and also meet party workers.

Shah issued his first statement on the results of the West Bengal panchayat elections on Friday, and tweeted, “Even the blood-shedding violence in West Bengal could not stop the BJP from performing brilliantly in the panchayat elections. The party has almost doubled the number of seats as compared to the last election. This shows that the confidence of the people of Bengal towards BJP is increasing.”

Shah said, “The results of the panchayat polls show that the affection of the people is with the BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and that this will take the party to tremendous heights in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.”

The BJP is also confident of winning more Lok Sabha seats in the state on the basis of its track record. The BJP won only three seats in the 2016 West Bengal Assembly elections with 10 per cent votes. With 37.97 per cent votes, the number of BJP MLAs increased from three to 77 directly in the 2021 Assembly elections.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP wrested many seats from the Trinamool Congress, winning 18 seats. The Trinamool Congress had won 22 Lok Sabha seats in 2019, whereas in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Trinamool Congress had won 34 seats and the BJP had won only two seats.