Amit Shah’s prediction comes true as BJP ends Mamata Banerjee’s 15-Year rule

In a result that has dramatically altered the political landscape of eastern India, the BJP’s emphatic victory in West Bengal has not only ended Mamata Banerjee’s long-standing dominance but also underscored the party’s expanding footprint beyond its traditional strongholds. At the centre of this push was Union home minister Amit Shah, whose confident pre-poll predictions—once seen as typical campaign rhetoric—now appear strikingly prescient.“Counting will begin in the morning of May 4. Ballot box will open at 8 am, first round will be over at 9 and second round at 10. Counting will be over at 1 pm and it will be ta ta, good-bye to didi.” Thus declared Union home minister Amit Shah at a rally in West Bengal on April 22, a day before the first phase of polling.

As the BJP surged to power in the state, ending Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s 15-year dominance, Shah’s prediction went viral. So did his remark that the party would go on to govern “Anga, Banga and Kalinga”—a cultural reference to Bihar, Bengal and Odisha—after the results were announced on Monday.
The last time a single party ruled the three major eastern states was in the 1970s, when Congress held sway before losing Bengal to the CPM in the first post-Emergency elections. Its decline in the other two states followed over a longer period.

Bold claims are routine in election campaigns, often aimed at energising workers and supporters. But Shah’s statement—coming from a seasoned strategist, organisational architect and relentless campaigner—was far from a casual remark.

He had begun rebuilding the BJP’s ground strategy in Bengal soon after becoming party chief, and the effort continued even after he moved to government. The setbacks of 2021 and a reduced tally in the Lok Sabha elections—from 18 seats to 12—did little to deter him.
In informal interactions, Shah often emphasised that Bengal, the birthplace of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh founder, held as much importance for him as Uttar Pradesh, where he led the party to a landmark win in 2017. Electoral disappointments appeared to further harden his resolve, pushing him to refine and recalibrate the party’s approach.In the latest campaign, he spent 15 days in the state, attending more than 50 public engagements, including 30 rallies and 12 roadshows. He also addressed multiple press conferences to shape the party’s narrative—focusing on Hindu consolidation, allegations of minority appeasement by the TMC, and welfare promises such as stipends for women and unemployed youth to counter the state government’s schemes.

Union minister Bhupender Yadav, the party’s election in-charge for Bengal, and BJP general secretary Sunil Bansal—a former RSS functionary overseeing organisational work in the state since 2022—played key roles on the ground, providing feedback to Shah and helping execute the campaign strategy.