Mamata Banerjee has lost the mandate. Mamata is no longer the Chief Minister of West Bengal. Mamata, who stormed into power in West Bengal in 2011 with her simple and emotive slogan of Ma, Maati and Manush (Mother, Soil and People), couldn’t retain her own seat in the 2026 West Bengal election. Was it the BJP? Definitely. But more than the BJP, it was Mamata herself. Mamata failed miserably in standing for her own slogan of Ma, Maati and Manush, which proved fatal to her 15-year rule filled with misgovernance, fear and theatrics.
Mamata’s greatest strength was in her portrayal of being a protective mother of Bengal. Mamata marketed herself through schemes like Matri Ma, Lakshmir Bhandar and Sabooj Shri, which were aimed at providing maternal care and empowering women across West Bengal. But we know, every product has an expiry date. The date, in Mamata’s case, was the 2024 Sandeshkhali horror. A scandal in which allegations of sexual assault by a local leader of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) were raised. This leader was Sheikh Shahjahan, the prime accused. Shahjahan was accused of leading a reign of terror involving sexual assaults in the area, but Mamata defended him by saying the charges against him were fabricated by political rivals. Mamata’s action was termed as slow, with authorities taking months to arrest the accused despite widespread protests. And this was what the women of Sandeshkhali had said back then: ‘What to say about Mamata Banerjee? She did not inquire about us, did not meet us… What to say about her? She is a woman herself and we are also women. In such a situation, if she did not come to us, then imagine what our condition would be’.
So, I wasn’t surprised when the early trends and exit polls of the 2026 West Bengal election showed a decisive shift in the female voting patterns towards the Bharatiya Janata Party. When someone who once promised safety was now associated with impunity, it was obvious that the mahila voters of the TMC stronghold would turn their backs in large numbers.
Under Mamata’s rule, West Bengal consistently ranked among the top four states in India from 2018 to 2023 for crimes against women. According to NCRB 2023 data, the state recorded 34,691 cases of crimes against women. But the conviction rate remained abysmal and made Bengal the second lowest in India meaning 96 out of every 100 accused walk free. Women across Bengal reported a deep sense of insecurity. From bike gangs harassing women on roads, aggressive auto drivers, to persistent human trafficking in rural pockets, daily life became a source of anxiety. That Mamata’s views in the aftermath of the rape case of a 23-year-old girl that happened in October 2025 were terrible. Mamata had said, ‘Girls shouldn’t be allowed out. Where is evidence? Was she having an affair?’ And this was when, a year ago only, the state had witnessed the well-known RG Kar Medical College Rape Case. How could the women have placed their trust in such a CM? As a girl myself, it’s hard to even think of trust and Mamata on the same pedestal.
Mamata tried to limit the right to freedom of religion. In September 2024, the height of Maa Durga idol was asked to be reduced stating security risks at the Deshapriya Park. Earlier, Mamata also imposed restrictions on performing puja, in Kanglapahari village, a village with a Hindu majority, where the puja was halted due to opposition by 25 muslim families residing there. Many restrictions were imposed across multiple districts, often citing traffic and law-and-order concerns, while publicly questioning the “unnecessary extravagance” and “noise pollution” during Durga Pooja celebrations. What a fall for Mamata as a CM that, instead of ensuring people practice their faith, she left them to fend for themselves.
Maati didn’t remain a point of concern for Mamata during her tenure as CM. However, it was Maati that formed the bedrock of TMC’s 2011 movement. The party had risen by opposing the forced land acquisition in Nandigram and Singur. Yet once the party came into power, their own record on political land grabbing issues became a controversy that ultimately led to their downfall. And favouritism in distribution of land and on top of that failure to deliver on promised Patta for the landless eroded complete trust. But as it’s said: ‘People often forget their aim after achieving whatever they want to’. The same happened with the TMC.
In her many years in power, Mamata never delivered meaningful development. As a result, by 2025, the tea industry had entered a deep structural crisis. Nearly 80% of organised tea estates in North Bengal were operating at a cash loss. Production in the North Bengal plains slumped by 50-60% compared to the previous year due to erratic weather, devastating looper caterpillar infestation and the state’s failure to provide timely agricultural support. Whereas in Darjeeling’s hills, tea production from January to November 2025 fell to a historic low of just 5.19 million kg. Average auction prices collapsed and Darjeeling leaf tea dropped to Rs 420.89 per kg while the cost of production soared to around Rs 650 per kg. Concerned? Don’t be. Remember? Mamata is not the CM anymore.
Manush, that is the people of West Bengal, were ignored at their finest by Mamata. The tea workers who were once the backbone of North Bengal’s economy faced wage paralysis and the daily wage in West Bengal remained stuck at just Rs 250, far below Rs 500 in Sikkim and Rs 440 in southern states. A study in Alipurduar, North-east Bengal from 2021-2022 revealed that 36.1% of tea workers were clinically undernourished and 87.9% suffered from anaemia. That in closed gardens like Madhu and Garganda, nearly 100 people died in early 2025 alone due to hunger-related complications. This collapse triggered mass out-migration, increased risks of human trafficking and left women in labour lines vulnerable to hazardous informal work. The Matua community, a significant Dalit group in Nadia and the 24 Parganas, felt neglected and gradually shifted towards the BJP, which promised them citizenship and cultural recognition.
And who can forget the displacement of the poor Hindus in the aftermath of the Murshidabad violence, when they had to leave their homes and had to migrate like aliens in their own land? However, Mamata, here, too, maintained silence on the real aliens. Actually, to speak truth, one requires fearlessness. But Mamata, it seems, had fear of losing votes.
Syndicate Raj and cut-money syndrome in construction and transport businesses and at the same time, the highest level of corruption in welfare schemes distanced the common man. Unemployment amongst the youth, particularly in rural and semi urban areas remained very high, despite central schemes being rebranded as state initiatives. To top it all, West Bengal recorded the highest number of crimes committed by foreigners in India in 2023, along with the maximum cases registered under the Foreigners Act, according to NCRB data.
The most lethal for Mamata was Mamata herself. Her style of leadership. Over the years, she had controlled power to such an extraordinary degree that she became blinded by it. An example of it could be seen when the ED raided the office of IPAC, and Mamata had reached the place and snatched the documents from the executive body’s representatives. Mind it, ED is mandated to combat economic crimes and was performing its duty.
Then Mamata’s frequent hollow outburst against the Election Commission of India, the Governor of West Bengal and later on her own party workers projected an image of violence for dissent. Mamata’s refusal to adapt and clinging to old alliances and old rhetoric proved very costly this time. Even as the results were coming in, her allegations of being hit and conspiracy theories, only reinforced the narrative of a leader, who is completely out of touch.
Family dominance was another thing, which was particularly the growing influence of her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee. Abhishek, who, during the election campaigning for the 2026 West Bengal election, warned the sitting Home Minister of the nation, Amit Anilchandra Shah, and said this: ‘If you are truly your father’s son and have the courage, then stay in Kolkata on May 4 and show it’.
By the time campaigning entered its final phase, the anti-incumbency against Mamata Banerjee had already hardened into something deeper – a widespread desire for political change. The BJP sensed that opening and, for the first time in Bengal’s recent history, managed to convert scattered resentment into a consolidated electoral movement.
It was into this atmosphere of exhaustion, anger and political drift that Prime Minister Modi entered with relentless campaigning and framed the contest as a battle between double engine development and TMC’s political paralysis. Modi addressed 28 massive rallies across the state, Shah conducted 18 rallies and Yogi Adityanath addressed 12, as the political temperature of Bengal reached fever pitch with the RSS, Modi, Shah and Yogi coming together in a unified organisational and emotional campaign never seen before.
Modi addressed multiple massive rallies across the state, directly addressing the pain points of the people from the suffering of tea garden workers in North Bengal to the daily humiliation of cut-money and syndicate raj in Kolkata and the districts. The Jhalmuri incident became the talk of the town. His message was clear and consistent that Bengal’s potential had been held hostage by a failed, dynastic and divisive model of governance. Something that was not easy for the people to avoid. The BJP’s organisational machinery and the extensive groundwork by RSS by micro-targeting of caste and community groups proved very formidable. Modi’s rallies and Suvendu Adhikari’s aggressive grassroot campaign, turned the tide and gave hope to people that Bengal could rise again but only if it shed the baggage of TMC rule.
By promising robust central support, industrial revival, infrastructure push and an end to political terrorism and infiltration, the BJP under PM Modi offered Bengal a credible pathway to reclaim its lost glory, which was missing till now. What was once considered impossible became reality in 2026. The people of Bengal chose change, development and hope over the fatigue and failures of the past 15 years. What was once dismissed as ‘outside interference’ became a bearer for hope and change and delivered the organisational and emotional hammer. At 75, while Bengal scorched under relentless heat, PM Modi was still on the ground, rallying tirelessly across the state with one mission that is Poriborton for Bengal.
As the dust settles on May 4, 2026, West Bengal stands at a historic crossroads. The BJP victory is not just a numbers game but it is the rejection of a political formula that had outlived its relevance. Now, the people demanded accountability and dignity. There, Mamata became the final catalyst in her own defeat and her defeat is not merely electoral, but it is the end of an era she herself defined. Rest in peace, TMC Raj.
