Six Of Seven: A Number From Bengal Becomes Talking Point In Madhya Pradesh

In politics, numbers often speak louder than slogans. And in the Bengal election results, one number that is now being discussed with unusual interest within the Madhya Pradesh BJP is "6 out of 7".

That is the strike rate linked to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav's campaign trail in West Bengal -- a state where the BJP has scripted a major political turnaround. According to the Election Commission trends and results, the BJP has crossed the majority mark in the 294-member West Bengal Assembly, while the Trinamool Congress has suffered a sharp setback after years of dominance. 

For Dr. Yadav, who was deployed by the BJP beyond Madhya Pradesh as part of its broader social and regional outreach strategy, Bengal has produced a politically useful arithmetic.

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He campaigned in seven assembly constituencies. The BJP won six of them. That gives him a Bengal strike rate of nearly 86 per cent.

The most striking part of this calculation came from Bankura district, where Dr. Yadav campaigned across five assembly seats and was also present during the filing of nominations by BJP candidates. The party went on to win all five.

In Saltora, BJP's Chandana Bauri defeated the Trinamool candidate by more than 32,000 votes. In Chhatna, Satyaprakash Mukhopadhyay won by over 47,000 votes. In Bankura, Niladri Sekhar Dana defeated the Trinamool candidate by more than 54,000 votes. In Barjora, Bileswar Sinha won by over 40,000 votes. In Onda, Amarnath Sakha also emerged victorious.

That is five seats and five wins -- a clean 100 per cent strike rate in Bankura.

During his campaign, Dr. Yadav had launched a sharp attack on the Trinamool Congress and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. 

"Mamata Didi is bent upon ceding the rights of the Bengali people to Bangladesh. Therefore, this is not merely an election, but a Dharm Yudh. In this atmosphere, the mantra of Shri Ram is empowering us all," he had said.

Photo Credit: NDTV

On April 18, he also campaigned for BJP candidate Arup Chowdhury in Kamarhati and Dilip Ghosh in Kharagpur Sadar. Kamarhati, traditionally considered a Trinamool stronghold, briefly created a political stir when the BJP candidate took an early lead. However, in a close contest, Arup Chowdhury eventually lost by around 5,000 votes.

But in Kharagpur Sadar, Dilip Ghosh won, defeating the Trinamool candidate by more than 30,000 votes.

In percentage terms, that is roughly 85.7 per cent -- almost the same as his reported performance in Bihar, where he campaigned in 25 constituencies and the BJP won 21 seats, giving him a strike rate of 84 per cent.

In Haryana too, he was deployed as a star campaigner in seats such as Bhiwani, Dadri, Tosham, Jhajjar and Bawani Khera, where the BJP secured four seats.

After the Bengal results, Dr. Yadav told NDTV that the people had voted against "injustice, oppression and misgovernance" and had once again placed their faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Asked whether he has now become a "mascot" for the BJP, he pushed the credit upward. "We have only one mascot, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We will now have Chief Ministers in 17 states -- a monumental achievement in the post-independence era," he said.

He also attacked the Opposition sharply. "As you sow, so shall you reap. Mamata Didi mocked our sisters, and Sonia Ji also ridiculed them. Five generations inflicted injustice upon women. The public has now exacted retribution for that injustice. Tell me if the slogan 'Jai Shri Ram' is not to be raised in Bengal, where else should it be raised?"

In his characteristic style, he added that the BJP's joy has now risen "higher than Mount Everest" and said the celebrations would include "Jhalmuri, Kalakand and sweets".