India walking towards Congress Mukt Bharat; Gandhi's party secures zero seats, also leads in just 2 of 7 bypolls
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The BJP in the state of West Bengal is about to create history by maintaining a comfortable lead well past the halfway mark as counting is underway for the Assembly elections 2026. While writing this report, the seats obtained by the BJP in the state stood at 173, while those by the TMC stood at 87. Trinamool is clearly staring at defeat after 15 years in power, in the first election after a record deletion of voters under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
While the vote counting for the 5 major states, including West Bengal, Puducherry, Assam, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, is underway, the counting for the bypolls in several cities like Umreth, Bagalkot, Davanagere, Baramati, Rahuri, Koridang, and Dharamnagar is also underway. And notably, only two of these, Bagalkot and Davanagere, had Congress heads leading, Umesh Meti and Samarth Shamanur Mallikarjuna, respectively. In the rest of the seats, the BJP is leading and the NCP (Ajit Pawar) in Baramati.
After coming to power in 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party significantly expanded its presence across the country, winning several states like Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand, and Assam, which contributed to weakening Congress’s position. In many regions, Congress also lost its traditional dominance and was replaced either by the BJP or by strong regional parties like the All India Trinamool Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
At the national level, the BJP’s decisive victories in the 2014 and 2019 Indian general elections have reinforced perceptions of the Indian National Congress as weakening. Although the vision of a completely “Congress-free India” has not been fully achieved, the party’s continued setbacks in West Bengal and in various bypolls point to a gradual erosion of its political standing.
In West Bengal, the ruling All India Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee is defending its stronghold in a direct contest with the Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP’s campaign in the state is prominently led by Suvendu Adhikari, a former close aide of Banerjee who is now the Leader of Opposition. Other players, including the Left Front, continue to influence the political landscape. Adding a new twist to the dynamics is a recently formed party by suspended Trinamool MLA Humayun Kabir, who had earlier gained attention for his initiative to build a mosque named after Babri.
Bengal voted in two phases on April 23 and 29, with repolling ordered in the Falta constituency and some booths elsewhere.
Interestingly, in this backdrop, the “grand old party,” the Indian National Congress, which fielded 290+ seats, appears to be in decline and nearing its end. According to initial inputs from the Election Commission of India, the party secured zero seats in West Bengal. Similarly, in the 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election also the party also failed to win any seats. It had contested as part of an alliance with the Left Front and the Indian Secular Front, but did not manage to win a single constituency.
While the vote counting for the 5 major states, including West Bengal, Puducherry, Assam, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, is underway, the counting for the bypolls in several cities like Umreth, Bagalkot, Davanagere, Baramati, Rahuri, Koridang, and Dharamnagar is also underway. And notably, only two of these, Bagalkot and Davanagere, had Congress heads leading, Umesh Meti and Samarth Shamanur Mallikarjuna, respectively. In the rest of the seats, the BJP is leading and the NCP (Ajit Pawar) in Baramati.
It is important to note that during the 2014 elections, the BJP popularized the term 'Congress Mukt Bharat' and pledged to end the family politics system in the country. It was not only about electorally defeating the Indian National Congress but also about ending what the BJP described as Congress-style politics, such as corruption, dynastic leadership, and policy paralysis.
Graph report from Election Commission of India (ECI)
After coming to power in 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party significantly expanded its presence across the country, winning several states like Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand, and Assam, which contributed to weakening Congress’s position. In many regions, Congress also lost its traditional dominance and was replaced either by the BJP or by strong regional parties like the All India Trinamool Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
At the national level, the BJP’s decisive victories in the 2014 and 2019 Indian general elections have reinforced perceptions of the Indian National Congress as weakening. Although the vision of a completely “Congress-free India” has not been fully achieved, the party’s continued setbacks in West Bengal and in various bypolls point to a gradual erosion of its political standing.
Bengal voted in two phases on April 23 and 29, with repolling ordered in the Falta constituency and some booths elsewhere.