Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a 'new chapter' for West Bengal following the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) victory in the assembly polls, marking a significant shift in the political landscape of India on May 4, 2026. Speaking in his victory speech, PM Modi referenced Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, whose ideology forms the foundation of the BJP, suggesting the election results fulfil a decades-long milestone.
“Today, as a BJP worker, another thought keeps coming to my mind. The soul of Shyama Prasad Mookerjee must be at so much peace today. Mookerjee fought a major battle to keep West Bengal a part of India. The dream he envisioned of a strong and prosperous Bengal had been waiting to be fulfilled for decades. Today, on May 4, 2026, the people of Bengal have given us, the BJP workers, that opportunity. A new chapter has been added to Bengal’s destiny. From today, Bengal is free from fear. It is filled with the confidence of development,” said Modi.
This victory is viewed by the BJP as a spiritual homecoming, given Mookerjee’s significant role during the Partition of India in 1947. He opposed the “United Bengal” plan, which proposed Bengal joining Pakistan, arguing instead that Hindu-majority regions of Bengal should remain part of India.
After resigning from Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet in 1950 over the Liaquat-Nehru Pact, Mookerjee sought to establish a political alternative with support from M.S. Golwalkar, the second Sarsanghchalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). In 1951, he founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh with the organisational backing of the RSS, which later evolved into the BJP in 1980.
His slogan, “Ek desh mein do Vidhan, do Pradhan aur do Nishan nahi chalenge” (One country cannot have two constitutions, two leaders, and two flags), inspired the 2019 abrogation of Article 370. Mookerjee championed the Indian identity rooted in civilisational heritage, a principle central to the RSS’s Hindutva philosophy. He envisioned a Bengal that would be an industrial and intellectual centre, free from the “fear” attributed to the state’s rule by the Left and Trinamool Congress (TMC).
For the BJP, winning in West Bengal is more than securing assembly seats; it represents the completion of a “historic battle” for the soul of Bengal, the land of their founder’s birth.
Earlier, PM Modi praised the BJP’s strong showing in West Bengal and the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) successes in Assam and Puducherry, calling the day “historic” and “unprecedented.”
“Today is a historic day. It is unprecedented. When years of efforts turn into success, the happiness that is seen on the faces of people is the same happiness that I see on the faces of BJP workers across the country today,” he said.
“As a party worker, I share the joy of every BJP worker. Today is a special day in many ways. It marks the announcement of a bright future for the country. This is a day of trust. Trust in India’s great democracy. Trust in the politics of performance. Trust in the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat,'” he added.
Vote counting was conducted on May 4 for assembly polls in Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry. The BJP also improved its performance in Kerala.