West Bengal election results: Cracks in opposition? Rahul sends message to leaders, ‘gloats’ over TMC’s defeat

New Delhi: Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi Party colleagues and other opposition leaders were warned on Tuesday not to celebrate Trinamool CongressThe defeat in West Bengal casts the election results as a greater threat to Indian democracy. Without taking names, Rahul Gandhi said: “Some in the Congress and others are gloating over the TMC’s failure. They need to understand this clearly: stealing the mandate of Assam and Bengal is a big step forward for the BJP in its mission to destroy democracy in India.”He urged political parties to rise above electoral competition, adding, “Put petty politics aside. This is not about one party or the other. This is about India.”The Congress leader’s remarks came a day after the BJP scored a landslide victory in West Bengal, breaching its majority and ending its 15-year rule. Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress.Rahul Gandhi’s reference to a “stolen mandate” seemed to echo the allegation leveled by Mamata Banerjee, who claimed that “more than 100 seats were stolen” in the state, a charge dismissed by the BJP.The Congress party has had limited electoral representation in West Bengal in recent years but won two seats in the 2026 assembly elections.Earlier, Mamata Banerjee claimed that the BJP had “plundered” over 100 seats and termed the Election Commission as a “BJP’s commission”, calling the victory “immoral” and “illegal”.The BJP will form its first government in West Bengal with a landslide victory, winning 206 seats in the 294-member parliament. The re-poll in Falta constituency will be held on May 21.