For decades, West Bengal occupied a distinct place in India’s political imagination. While large parts of the country moved through waves of caste mobilisation, religious consolidation and personality-driven nationalism, Bengal continued to see itself differently ~ ideological where others were emotional, argumentative where others were conformist, and resistant to overt majoritarian politics. The victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the state suggests that this exceptionalism has weakened more profoundly than many in Bengal were willing to admit.

The significance of this election lies not merely in the defeat of Mamata Banerjee after fifteen years in power. Governments lose elections. Political eras end. What makes this verdict consequential is that Bengal has historically resisted precisely the kind of political current the BJP represents nationally. The state’s political identity was shaped for decades by class politics, trade unionism, literary culture, and a regional self-confidence that viewed religious polarisation as alien to Bengal’s social fabric. That confidence has now encountered a harder political reality. The BJP’s rise in Bengal was not sudden. It emerged through years of steady electoral expansion, organisational........

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