West Bengal Elections: BJP a formidable force but won't win, says poll strategist Prashant Kishor

Poll strategist Prashant Kishor, currently guiding TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee to victory in West Bengal, has said that although he saw the BJP as a force to be reckoned with, the party won't win in the state.

Speaking with The Telegraph, Kishor said, "Make no mistake, no matter what happens, the BJP has arrived in Bengal..,.all I am arguing is that they (BJP) are a very strong party even if they lose, which they will."

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He said that the only way the saffron party could've won was if the Trinamool Congress had collapsed. "The BJP was hoping Trinamool would come apart, but they did not contend with Didi and what she means,” Kishor said.

Putting his weight behind CM Mamata Banerjee, he exuded confidence in the TMC not only winning the elections again but also increasing its vote share.

He gave two reasons for this. "Didi remains by far the most popular leader in Bengal. Nobody has such energy, grit, intelligence and presence. Secondly, look at how swiftly and wholesomely we have responded and rearranged ourselves. We saw and recognised the threat from the BJP. We put in place an elaborate strategy which was a mix of the administrative and the political,” he said.

Kishor also said that the contest was going to be bipolar in West Bengal and dismissed the Left-Congress combine as of “no significance”.

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“This BJP is a formidable force in Bengal today but there is no way they are going to win, absolutely not. For the BJP to win, they need at least 44 per cent of the vote, which means they will have to substantially up their Lok Sabha numbers. Barring a few small-state exceptions like Haryana and Tripura, the BJP’s Assembly vote share has always been lower than what they secure in Lok Sabha elections. The BJP has an uphill task. I can tell you they are not winning this one,” he said.

Kishor also said that the upcoming elections were very important. "This election will mean the difference between India retaining the vibrancy of a multi-party democracy and becoming a one-nation, one-party state."