PM calls West Bengal win a ‘new sunrise’

Asserting that “Lotus is blooming from Gangotri to Gangasagar”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the BJP’s “historic and unprecedented” victory in West Bengal, saying ‘poribartan hoi gaiche,’ (Change has come about in Bengal).

Addressing BJP workers at the party headquarters after the win in assembly elections in West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry, Modi said the people had shown the world why India is known as the “mother of democracy”. PM Modi said, “A new chapter has been added to the destiny of Bengal from today. Bengal has been freed from fear and is now filled with the confidence of development. Banglay poriborton hoyeche (Change has arrived in Bengal)”.

“I dedicate the credit for the Bharatiya Janata Party’s success in Bengal - this victory - to the people of Bengal... A new sunrise has dawned on the sacred land of Bengal,” he added. He even declared it as his “guarantee”.

It was also a matter of pride for the BJP that Anga (modern-day Bihar), Banga (Bengal) and Kalinga (Odisha) -- the three pillars of ancient India -- have chosen the NDA to help take the country forward again, PM Modi said at the victory event attended by BJP president Nitin Nabin, Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, among others. When the BJP has won in Bengal, there should be talk of ‘badlav’ (change) not ‘badla’ (revenge), ‘bhavishya’ (future) not ‘bhay’ (fear), he said.

Notably, PM Modi chose symbolism as much as celebration when he arrived at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi on Monday, hours after the party’s sweeping victory in West Bengal. Known for using attire to signal political messages, the Prime Minister appeared in a traditional Bengali ensemble, aligning his appearance with the State that had just delivered a landmark mandate. He wore a white kurta, known as a panjabi in Bangla, paired with a Tussar silk dhuti edged with a red border, a classic style associated with Bengali men. While the attire celebrated the Bengali culture, the details were deliberate, too.

PM Modi also tucked the end of his dhuti into his kurta pocket, a nuanced touch that mirrors how the garment is traditionally worn in Bengal. Draped around his neck was a cotton scarf featuring buti motifs, the dotted patterns commonly seen in Bengali textiles, adding another layer of cultural reference. The sartorial choice came as the BJP surged past the majority mark in the 294-member Assembly, heading toward a decisive victory that would end the Trinamool Congress’s 15-year rule.

Modi recalled his speech on November 14 last year, when the Bihar election results came in, he told the BJP workers from this very spot that the Ganga flows onward from Bihar all the way to Ganga Sagar (in West Bengal). “The lotus has bloomed from Gangotri to Gangasagar,” PM Modi said, pointing out that in “Uttarakhand, UP and now West Bengal, today there is a BJP-NDA Government in all these states settled along the Ganga”.

“And today, with victory in West Bengal, from Gangotri (Uttarakhand) to Ganga Sagar (West Bengal), it is nothing but the lotus in full bloom. Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal today, in these states surrounding Mother Ganga, there are BJP-NDA Governments,” he said. Democracy, not fear, won in this festival of democracy in West Bengal, Modi said.

Modi said it was a special day in many ways as it heralds a bright future for the country. “It is a day of trust in the great democracy of India, trust in the politics of performance, trust in the resolve of stability, trust in the spirit of Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat.

“I bow before the people of West Bengal, Assam, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Keralam,” he said. He highlighted the nearly 93 per cent voter turnout in West Bengal as historic, and said new voting records were also set in Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala. He added that women’s participation was exceptionally high, calling it one of the brightest aspects of Indian democracy.

The Prime Minister also took a dig at the Opposition parties on the occasion, indicating that while women - angry over the defeat of the quota bill in parliament - had exacted revenge over Banerjee in Bengal, a similar fate awaits all the parties that blocked the bill in parliament last month.

“I had said a few days ago that parties opposing reservation for women will have to face the wrath of women. The sisters and daughters of our nation have now punished the Congress, Trinamool, and the DMK,” he said.

“In Kerala, the Congress has certainly benefited from the ten years of misrule by the Left, but I am confident that the sisters of Kerala will also teach the party a lesson in the next elections. Similarly, the Samajwadi Party will also have to endure the outrage of the women of Uttar Pradesh... The anti-women Samajwadi Party will never be able to wash away its sins, no matter what it tries,” PM Modi said.

There was also a word on the fate of the Left, which for the first time since 1977, finds itself without a state to rule following its defeat in Kerala. This, PM Modi said, is a “major shift in Indian politics”.

“This is not merely a political shift. It is a shift in mindset. Today’s India seeks opportunity. It seeks development. It seeks trust, progress, and stability. Today’s India demands a brand of politics that moves the nation forward,” he said, indicating that the country’s infatuation with the Leftist ideology is finally over.

The BJP, which has sought to wrest Bengal for long, is now set to succeed, leading in 200-plus seats in the state. The party has also won a third straight term in Assam and another one in Puducherry.

Modi also lauded the Election Commission and those involved in conducting the assembly elections for maintaining the dignity of India’s democracy. “Our constitutional institutions have won, our democratic processes have won. In West Bengal, 93 per cent turnout has been historic. In Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala, new turnout records have been made,” PM Modi said in the address on Monday evening.

“Today, I would like to say a big thank you to the Election Commission, its staff, and those who worked during election, and security workers. The history will always remember the contribution of all of you in maintaining the dignity of India’s democracy,” he added.

PM Modi thanked the voters in five assemblies- Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry.