West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee projected unshakeable confidence in Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) return to power, claiming they would clinch over 226 of 294 assembly seats after polling concluded on Wednesday.

In a video message and public remarks a day later, she dismissed exit polls as BJP-orchestrated demoralisation tactics, alleging they were aired on instructions from the top to rattle her party’s cadres amid record 90 per cent voter turnout in the two-phased election.

“We are forming the government of ‘Mother—Land—People’. Joy Bangla!” Banerjee declared in her video address on Thursday, framing TMC’s campaign as a grassroots triumph rooted in Bengali identity and welfare delivery. With results due on May 4 alongside Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, she asserted internal assessments showed a supermajority, building on 2021’s 215 seats and countering BJP’s “Mission 152” ambitions in a fiercely bipolar contest.

Mamata Banerjee’s post-poll bravado came hours after record 92.6 turnout in Phase 2, capping a high-stakes battle marked by violence allegations, cultural symbolism and digital warfare. Her optimism directly challenged exit polls splitting between TMC retention (Peoples Pulse/Janmat exit poll) and BJP surges (Matrize/Praja exit poll), positioning her narrative as the antidote to perceived media manipulation.

Exit polls branded BJP demoralisation tactic

A day after polls ended, Mamata Banerjee accused BJP of engineering exit poll predictions ‘at instruction from above’ purely to demoralise TMC workers and voters. She claimed the broadcasts aimed to sow doubt post-record turnout, insisting ground realities favoured her party despite the ‘neck-and-neck’ projections. This echoed Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s similar caution on poll confusion, amplifying opposition skepticism toward surveys favoring BJP in urban swings.

Her remarks positioned exit polls as psychological warfare, not credible forecasts, urging cadres to ignore ‘fabricated’ leads and focus on counting day. Analysts noted this as classic TMC playbook: preempting reversals while rallying the base against Delhi’s ‘outsider’ interference.

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Central forces accused of atrocities

Mamata Banerjee unleashed a tirade against Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), alleging BJP-directed ‘atrocities’ including voter intimidation, slow polling and minority targeting. She claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah orchestrated the deployments, with 200 personnel per booth blocking cameras and enabling BJP agents inside.

Specific allegations included an elderly minority man in a lungi slapped and ejected with his granddaughter in Malda and deliberate delays in Bhabanipur to deter turnout. “Instructions from above…direct interference,” she fumed, calling the forces a tool for coercion rather than riot prevention, amid cleaner voter lists post-Special Intensive Revision.

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Polling spanned from April 23 to 29 across 294 constituencies, with TMC defending strongholds against BJP’s Hindutva push and welfare critiques. CM Banerjee’s dual role as the Bhabanipur candidate amplified her personal stake, tying victory to the ‘Maa-Maati-Manush’ ethos versus the BJP’s law-order narrative.