“Boycott BJP”: Abhishek Banerjee Predicts A New Number For Bengal Election 2026

Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Friday sharpened his attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party, calling for a political and social boycott of the party ahead of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections. Addressing party workers and supporters, Banerjee urged people to isolate the BJP, alleging that the party does not care about the lives or rights of ordinary citizens. “Boycott BJP politically and socially. They don’t care for your life and your rights,” Banerjee said, repeating the combative tone that marked the No Vote to BJP campaign during the 2021 Assembly polls.

Friday marked the day one of the sit-in-protest in Kolkata called by TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee against what she described as “unplanned SIR” and conspiracy plot by Election Commission of India along with BJP to disenfranchise legitimate Bengali voters. Abhishek Banerjee attended the event, sat through the dharna for several hours along with other top TMC leaders. Mamata Banerjee had called affected “SIR victims” on stage - people who are alive but shown dead on the final Special Intensive Revision (SIR) list.

Abhishek Banerjee, speaking from the stage as the last speaker, also made a fresh prediction about the BJP’s performance in the upcoming state election. According to him, the party will fail to cross 50 seats in the 294-member West Bengal Legislative Assembly.
“BJP can not come up with a white paper on what they have done for Bengal in the past 12 years. They are giving misleading advertisements to media and claiming that they have given money for the housing scheme for poor. If they have given even money for one house, I will quit politics. They cant think beyond Hindu-Musli. And now they are literally torturing people with SIR. Their objective is to delete around 2 crore voters and manipulate elections. I will fight till the end and restrict them to below 50 seats. That was my earlier prediction, the way things are going, they may not even reach 40 seats,” he said, reiterating a claim he has made several times in recent months while projecting confidence about the Trinamool Congress’ electoral prospects. In the 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, the BJP had emerged as the principal opposition with 77 seats, while the All India Trinamool Congress secured a sweeping victory.

Banerjee also mocked the BJP’s ongoing Rath Yatra campaign in the state, calling it politically motivated and culturally insensitive. He claimed the timing and manner of the programme were “ominous” and did not align with traditional Hindu Bengali customs. According to the TMC leader, the BJP’s campaign style shows a lack of understanding of Bengal’s social and cultural fabric. “BJP is claiming they will give money to the women of Bengal. A scheme they want to use to challenge the Mamata Banerjee’s Laxmi Bhandar scheme. If they want to help and empower women then why don’t they launch the scheme in their own BJP ruled states - they are there in 12 states on their own. They don’t care for women, they care for votes and power. Thats why people should boycott them and their bluff”, Banerjee added.

Banerjee’s remarks come at a time when political activity in the state is steadily intensifying ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls. Both the Trinamool Congress and the BJP have been stepping up public outreach campaigns and sharpening their rhetoric. With the new “boycott” call echoing the aggressive messaging seen during the last election cycle, the exchange between the two parties is likely to escalate further as the state moves closer to the next electoral battle amidst the SIR row .