NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has warned party members and opposition leaders against celebrating the recent defeat of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal, portraying the election results as indicative of a larger threat to Indian democracy.
Without specifying individuals, Gandhi stated, “Some in the Congress, and others, are gloating about TMC’s loss. They need to understand this clearly: the theft of Assam and Bengal’s mandate is a big step forward by the BJP in its mission to destroy Indian democracy.”
He urged political parties to transcend electoral rivalries, emphasizing, “Put petty politics aside. This is not about one party or another. This is about India.”
Gandhi’s comments followed the BJP’s significant victory in West Bengal, where the party crossed the majority threshold, ending a 15-year tenure of Mamata Banerjee and the TMC. His reference to the “theft of mandate” resonated with allegations made by Banerjee, who asserted that “more than 100 seats were stolen” in the elections, a claim that the BJP has refuted.
The Congress, which has struggled to maintain a political presence in West Bengal in recent years, secured two seats in the 2026 assembly elections. In previous remarks, Banerjee accused the BJP of “looting” over 100 seats and labeled the Election Commission as “the BJP’s commission,” describing the electoral victory as “immoral” and “illegal.”
The BJP is poised to form its first government in West Bengal, having won 206 out of 294 seats in the assembly. A repolling in the Falta constituency is scheduled for May 21.
