Mamata Banerjee holds fort in Bengal with consolidation of Muslim votes

Kolkata, May 20: The BJP made inroads in West Bengal winning two seats, but Narendra Modi's dream run was halted by Trinamool Congress chief

who benefited from the 28 per cent vote share of Muslims which contributed to the

sweep in the state.

The TMC won 34 out of the 42 seats with a 39.4 per cent vote share, the Congress 4 seats with 9 per cent vote share and the Left registered its worst performance since Independence winning two seats with 23 per cent vote share.

The BJP, which till yesterday was considered irrelevant in the state's politics gave a stellar performance bagging 17.06 percent vote share with two seats. The party's vote share rose by 12 per cent since last Lok Sabha polls in 2009.

28 per cent Muslim vote share in Bengal helped Mamata

The 28 per cent Muslim vote share in Bengal, which is considered the route to power, helped Mamata.

Mamata's verbal duel with Modi during campaigning in the state not only changed the perceived four corner contest between Congress, CPI(M), Trinamool and BJP into a bipolar fight between her and Modi, but also helped her in consolidating the votes of Muslims in south Bengal and parts of north Bengal.

"The election was more of yes Modi-no-Modi. Those who were opposed to Modi in Bengal including the minorities fully supported Mamata and those opposed to Mamata went with the BJP this time," said Udayan Bandopadhaya, a political analyst.

PTI