NEW DELHI: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday rejected exit poll predictions for the state, declaring that the Trinamool Congress will form a “government of Maa, Maati, Manush.”Her reaction came after multiple pollsters released projections indicating a neck-and-neck contest between the ruling TMC and the main opposition, BJP.
Polling in both phases concluded with a record voter turnout exceeding 90%, held on April 23 and April 29 across all 294 seats. Bengal CM posted a video message on X, exuding confidence in her incumbent government. She also said that “TMC will win over 226 seats,” surpassing her previous tally of 215.Earlier, the BJP also made strong claims of winning West Bengal, with Karnataka BJP president BY Vijayendra on Thursday expressing confidence that the party is heading for a historic victory in the state. He also said the NDA is likely to perform strongly in other states, including Tamil Nadu.Reacting to exit poll trends, Vijayendra said the party remains confident under its central leadership and credited the efforts of its cadre across the country.“We are very confident under the dynamic leadership of Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, our honourable home minister Amit Shah ji, and national president Nitin Naveen ji. Due to the hard work of lakhs of party workers in West Bengal, the Bharatiya Janata Party is going to come to power for the first time in the state’s history,” he said.Exit polls for the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections on Wednesday pointed to a sharply divided verdict. While most projections gave the BJP an edge, one survey indicated a strong win for the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC). The poll of polls suggested a neck-and-neck contest, projecting around 145 seats each for the BJP and the TMC in the 294-member Assembly, with others expected to win about four seats.However, a majority of individual surveys leaned towards the BJP. Chanakya Strategies projected the BJP at 150–160 seats and the TMC at 130–140. Matrize gave the BJP 146–161 seats against the TMC’s 125–140, while P-MARQ projected a wider margin with the BJP at 150–175 and the TMC at 118–138. JVC indicated a closer race but still placed the BJP ahead with 138–159 seats, compared to the TMC’s 131–152. Smaller parties and others were expected to secure only a handful of seats across most surveys.In contrast, People’s Pulse emerged as an outlier, projecting a decisive lead for the TMC with 178–187 seats, while placing the BJP at 95–110 seats and others at 2–3.
