BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari defeated West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the Bhabanipur constituency in the recently concluded Assembly elections, handing the three-term leader her first loss in a political bastion. The result caps a campaign orchestrated by BJP National President Amit Shah that targeted Banerjee through sustained booth-level organization, voter outreach, and electoral-roll revision.

Shah directed a months-long operation centered on Kolkata’s Bhabanipur, with nightly review sessions mapping polling stations and consolidating support among key demographic groups. The campaign prioritized early voting by BJP supporters and deployed state-level leaders to engage diverse voter segments while monitoring for intimidation by Trinamool Congress workers.

BJP outreach focused on Bhabanipur’s Gujarati and Marwari communities, estimated at 25,000 and 21,000 voters respectively, through small-group meetings and security assurances at residential societies. Party workers cited allegations of past intimidation and fraudulent voting, which they said were addressed by structured protection during the poll. A concurrent booth-level structure assigned in-charges to each polling station to track unity and report coercion attempts.

The BJP also credited the deletion of about 47,000 names from electoral rolls through the Systematic Voter Registration and Electoral Roll Revision process for removing duplicates and deceased voters. Adhikari won by over 15,000 votes, a margin Banerjee rejected as stolen through undemocratic means. The West Bengal BJP has signaled it will pursue legal challenges while Banerjee’s party prepares to contest the allegations.