Eastbound and determined: Will BJP's West Bengal blitz hit the mark?

Hoisting the sails of resurgence, BJP's flotilla charts a course for redemption with sights set on 35 seats in West Bengal

If Karnataka and Telangana are pivotal to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) blueprint to stamp its footprint and expand in the South, West Bengal is central to establishing its presence in the East, notwithstanding its near-dominance in the Northeast with the help of regional forces.

The BJP entered West Bengal with a bang in the 2019 Lok Sabha (LS) polls, winning 18 of the 42 seats, four less than the Trinamool Congress Party (TMC), its principal adversary.

However, the setback in the 2021 Assembly election, followed by more reversals in by-polls, including the loss of Asansol LS, dampened