TMC tears into PM Modi's 'jungle raj' claim, says Mamata will return with 250 seats in 2026 polls

Kolkata: The TMC on Friday launched a sharp counterattack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claim that the BJP's sweeping Bihar win has "paved the way to end jungle raj" in West Bengal, dismissing it as a "pure illusion" and asserting that Mamata Banerjee will return with a 250-seat mandate in 2026.

TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said Modi's remark that "just as the Ganga flows from Bihar to Bengal, the BJP's victory will flow there too", betrayed a "poor understanding of Bengal's political chemistry".

"People of Bengal have repeatedly rejected BJP's politics of hate. The BJP's dream of conquering the state is an illusion, like a tortoise wanting to lie on its back. And waiting for them is the Bengal Tigress - Mamata Banerjee," Ghosh told reporters, adding, "The Bihar chemistry will not work here. In Bengal, Banerjee is the commander." Taking aim at Modi's allegation of "jungle raj" in Bengal, Ghosh said, "There is no 'jungle raj' in Bengal. Jungle raj existed during the Left era. Government data shows Bengal is one of the safest states. From Kashmir to Delhi, the crime graphs show where 'jungle raj' really is." He cited the Unnao, Hathras and Prayagraj cases in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh to argue that "'jungle raj' is when rape survivors' families are attacked, when convicts walk out of jail with garlands".

"Let the prime minister look there before sermonising Bengal," he added.

Ghosh said Modi was "yet to learn lessons from the defeats of 2021 and 2024", asserting that the verdict in 2026 would be no different.

"You lost the Assembly polls, you lost in the panchayats, and you lost Lok Sabha seats even after camping here. TMC gained seats. In 2026, Mamata Banerjee will become chief minister for a fourth straight term with over 250 seats," he said.

Mocking Modi's comparison of Bihar and Bengal, he remarked, "The Bihar equation does not apply here. In Bihar you fought Congress-type parties. But in Bengal, the TMC has prepared counters for every allegation. Let Modiji keep this fantasy talk inside the pocket of his ten-lakh-rupee jacket." Accusing the BJP of insulting Bengal's ethos, Ghosh said the party had "blocked 100 days' wages, stalled housing funds, maligned the Bengali language, and even suggested that Bengali-speaking girls should be sent to Bangladesh".

"The BJP, by insulting Bengalis and Bengal, is inviting a democratic response. And in 2026 the BJP will win even fewer seats, they may even lose Opposition status," he said.

"Bengal will answer through democracy." Modi, addressing BJP workers at the party headquarters after the NDA's sweeping victory in Bihar, had said the mandate had "cleared the path" for a BJP triumph in the neighbouring state and vowed to "throw out 'jungle raj' from West Bengal as well".