BJP conquers Eastern region: Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and Assam have chosen the BJP
Shams Ur Rehman Alavi
NewsBits.in
BJP has finally conquered the East, almost the entire region in India's eastern part. As it wins Bengal, BJP has now taken control over the entire region--the former greater Bengal province or the Bengal presidency that was the largest region in India and included Bihar, Bengal, Odisha apart from Assam and other small states in the North East.
After over 48 years, first the Communist party and later TMC's nearly 15 year rule, the wait is over and BJP now commands West Bengal, the state located in Eastern part of the country.
Already, BJP has won Assam repeatedly. It is the ruling party in Odisha. In Bihar too, BJP's Samrat Chaudhary is the chief minister. Among North Eastern states--the seven sisters, most of these states have BJP dominating the political landscape. Except Jharkhand, almost the entire Eastern India is now dominated by the BJP.
India's East has a population of over 330 million or 33 crore, which is equivalent to the third biggest country, USA's population. Bihar that was under socialist party's control for a long period and West Bengal which was ruled by Communists for over three decades and later Trinamool Congress for three terms, are now with the BJP.
Just one state, Jharkhand, a tribal dominated region, is the exception. BJP has won comprehensively in North India, Central India and the Western part. However, the South and the East had been away. Among Southern states, BJP had made inroads in Karnataka while it gained foothold in a few other parts but the region remained out of bounds for it.
However, in East that has two big states--Bihar and Bengal, BJP's coalition with JDU gained power in the state. In 2026, BJP won Bengal as well. Among other states in the region, several smaller states have BJP chief ministers. In Arunachal Pradesh, Pema Khandu is the CM, BJP's Y Khemchand Singh is at the helm in Manipur while Manik Saha is CM in Tripura.
Clearly, BJP is on the roll. Even though Opposition has said that SIR and the exlcusion of voters in West Bengal, led to the BJP's victory. TMC and other parties have repeatedly questioned the role of Election Commission. However, the fact is that the parties in the opposition failed to hold demonstrations that could have impact at the national level, is also a factor.
Right now, estimated population of these states is: Bihar 13.3 crore, West Bengal 10.6 crore, Odisha 4.7 crore, Jharkhand 4.2 crore, Assam 3.7 crore and remaining seven north eastern states have another 2 crore populace. This makes it a region above 35 crore or 350 million, in fact, even higher as per latest estimates, in 2026.
The 2026 Assembly elections have brought about major changes. For the first time in decades, India has no Communist government in any of the states. UDF i.e. Congress and Indian Union Muslim League alliance has won Kerala, dislodging the Left Front. In Tamil Nadu, actor Vijay has been elected.
BJP has expanded its footprint in a big way now. It will have chief ministers in at least, sixteen states in India, now. That's the sort of political dominance that parties yearn for. Congress once had such dominance in the era of Nehru and later Indira Gandhi. But after Rajiv Gandhi's landslide victory in 1985, party never had such a strong footprint across Indian states, again.
