Bengal Election 2026: Amit Shah Vows to Defeat Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur; Predicts BJP Win, Sets 170 Seat Target

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday escalated the Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, declaring that the party is determined to defeat her in her bastion of Bhabanipur.

Addressing supporters, Shah said the BJP’s strategy was to directly challenge Banerjee on her home turf. “I told Suvendu Adhikari that Mamata must be defeated in her home turf,” he said. Referring to Banerjee’s past electoral defeat in Nandigram, he said, “Mamata got defeated in Nandigram. Mamata will lose in the whole of Bengal and Bhabanipur as well.”

Projecting confidence ahead of the Assembly elections, Amit Shah claimed that public sentiment in the state is shifting. “People of Bengal are ready for change,” he said, asserting that the BJP is working towards forming the next government. He added that a victory in Bhabanipur would have a wider political impact. “If Bhabanipur people make us win this one seat, we will be able to bring change,” Shah said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, also set an ambitious electoral target for the party. “May 5, BJP government is coming,” he said, adding that the BJP is aiming to secure around 170 seats in the Assembly.

Stepping up his criticism of the Trinamool Congress government, Shah alleged rising corruption and a lack of employment opportunities. “Youth have no employment, a record of corruption has been made by Mamata,” he said.

He further argued that forming a BJP government was the only way forward for the state. “Manner in which corruption and infiltration are happening in Bengal, one way out is to form a BJP government under PM Modi’s leadership,” he said. Drawing comparisons with BJP-ruled states, Shah added, “States under the BJP government are working on the path of development.”

He then accompanied, Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari during his nomination filing from the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency, in what party leaders described as a major show of strength. The procession moved from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s residential locality, before halting near the Survey Building, from where Shah walked with Adhikari to the office for filing nomination papers.

The roadshow began from Hazra crossing, with Shah and Adhikari travelling atop an open vehicle alongside state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya and other leaders. Supporters lined the streets and rooftops, waving saffron flags and raising slogans such as “Ebar Banglay BJP” and “Mamata hatao, Bangla bachao”. It saw tensions flare near Kalighat, close to Banerjee’s residence, as BJP supporters encountered Trinamool Congress workers.

Slogans of “Jai Shri Ram” and “BJP zindabad” were met with counter-cries of “Joy Bangla” and “Mamata Banerjee zindabad”, leading to a charged face-off between the two groups. Some protesters waved black flags and shouted “Amit Shah go back”, as both sides stood in close proximity for several minutes.

Police personnel intervened, forming a human barricade to keep the groups apart. A brief scuffle broke out before the situation was brought under control, though traffic in the area was temporarily disrupted.

The confrontation underscored the intensifying political contest in Bhabanipur, widely seen as a key battleground in the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections.​