"Hindu Vote Consolidated, Got Adivasi Vote Too": Suvendu Adhikari To NDTV As BJP Leads In Bengal

As counting progressed on Monday in the West Bengal Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party maintained a strong lead across a large number of seats, with its state leader Suvendu Adhikari telling NDTV that the party had seen a consolidation of Hindu votes along with significant support from Adivasi communities.

Adhikari, who is seen as a possible Chief Ministerial candidate for the BJP, spoke as early trends showed his party ahead. With the 294-seat Assembly requiring 148 for a majority, the figures pointed to a potential shift in a state that has been governed by Mamata Banerjee since 2011

"The people voted against the misrule," Suvendu Adhikari told NDTV. 

He stressed that the BJP had long aimed for a breakthrough in Bengal, referencing the party's origins linked to Shyama Prasad Mookerjee. "BJP has been dreaming of doing this since the time of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, but has never been able to do it," he said. 

Adhikari described Bengal as the cultural capital of the country and attributed the changes to the tenure of the current government. He credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for leading the campaign and working hard, and thanked both the people and PM Modi. 

When told that he had become the next Chief Minister, Adhikari dismissed the assertion. On the question of women's voting patterns, Adhikari said the vote was not divided along male and female lines in that sense. "Hindu women voted for the BJP," he said. 

He added that the party had also secured a substantial number of tribal votes this time. Referring to areas where demographic changes had occurred, he observed that the voting patterns there had followed this direction.

"In the coming days, everything will be fine. We are running 189. This is a big difference. We will handle the rest," he said, referring to the party's projected seat numbers at that stage of counting.

He dismissed the Trinamool Congress's "outsider-insider" narrative as cheap politics. "Outsider-insider, it's a Mamata Banerjee's very cheap politics. The people rejected it," he stated. 

When asked directly about his prospects as the undisputed leader and Chief Ministerial candidate, particularly given his past victory over Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram and the possibility of defeating her again in Bhabanipur, Adhikari declined to engage on the point. "No, I am not passing this sensitive question. BJP is collective leadership. Under the great leadership of Narendra Modi, we fought this election and results are coming," he said.

The counting, which began at 8 am with postal ballots followed by EVM votes, showed the BJP pushing forward in border areas, tribal regions, and industrial belts.