Union Minister and Jodhpur Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament Gajendra Singh Shekhawat delivered a commanding electoral performance in North Bengal during the West Bengal Assembly elections, securing victories in 26 out of 28 constituencies he campaigned in — a strike rate of 93 per cent. Shekhawat spent more than 15 days on the ground, leading a structured, booth-level campaign across the region's most politically sensitive districts.

Key Districts and Margins

Shekhawat's campaign was concentrated across the strategically significant belt of Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, and Siliguri — border districts that have historically held outsized electoral importance in state politics. The BJP's wins in these areas were not narrow; several were emphatic.

In Matigara–Naxalbari, the victory margin stood at 1,04,265 votes. Dabgram–Phulbari recorded a margin of 97,715 votes, while Siliguri saw the BJP win by 73,192 votes. Alipurduar and Cooch Behar North followed closely, with margins of 70,420 and 70,384 votes respectively.

Several other constituencies, including Jalpaiguri, Mathabhanga, Maynaguri, and Kumargram, recorded margins exceeding 50,000 votes. Seats like Madarihat, Phansidewa, and Falakata each posted margins above 40,000 votes.

Campaign Strategy and Ground Presence

Unlike conventional top-down campaigning, Shekhawat's approach centred on direct voter engagement at the booth level. His team combined high-energy roadshows and public rallies with door-to-door mobilisation and worker coordination, according to officials from his office.

Shekhawat also actively engaged with key social groups, including the Marwari community, helping the BJP consolidate a broad support base in the region. Officials credited his focus on booth management and the building of local networks as decisive factors in the scale of the victory.

Issues That Shaped the Narrative

The campaign raised issues of border security, infiltration, development, and regional identity — concerns that reportedly resonated strongly with voters in North Bengal's border districts. This issue-based framing helped distinguish the BJP's outreach from more generic state-level messaging.

Notably, Shekhawat had also played a significant role in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections in the same region, making this his second consecutive major assignment in North Bengal. Political observers, according to reports, view his North Bengal strategy as a cornerstone of the BJP's broader performance in the state — a demonstration of how sustained ground presence and micro-level planning can translate into sweeping electoral gains.

Significance for BJP's Bengal Calculus

North Bengal has increasingly emerged as a BJP stronghold in a state otherwise dominated by the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC). The scale of the 2025 results in this region underlines the party's deepening roots in the area. How the BJP consolidates these gains — and whether they translate into leverage in state-level politics — will be closely watched in the months ahead.