Mamata Banerjee's Delhi dream faces collapse

Just weeks before the election, Mamata Banerjee declared at a rally that she would “take over Delhi” after securing another victory in Bengal, promising to unite opposition parties and “dismantle” the BJP at the centre.

That ambition now appears shattered, reports BBC.

A defeat in Bengal would not merely end Banerjee’s 15-year rule in the state; it would dramatically weaken her standing within India’s already fragile opposition alliance.

With the Congress under Rahul Gandhi struggling nationally, Banerjee had increasingly positioned herself as perhaps the most credible anti-BJP leader with administrative experience, political aggression and mass appeal.

But Indian opposition politics is unforgiving to leaders who lose their home turf.

Instead of emerging as the nucleus of a national anti-BJP coalition, Banerjee may now find herself fighting simply to preserve the relevance - and unity - of her own party.