The White House has added its weight to the most consequential Indian state election in years, with President Donald Trump congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi on what Washington called a “historic, decisive” victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal. A spokesman confirmed that Trump, who spoke to Modi by phone last month, remains deeply impressed by the prime minister’s leadership, describing India as “lucky” to have him at the helm. The message came as the BJP swept to power in the eastern state for the first time, winning 207 of 294 assembly seats and ending the 15-year rule of Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress.

For Modi, the result is a personal triumph and a sharp rebuke to the regionalism that has long defined Bengali politics. Viewed from New Delhi, however, the victory has also reignited a bitter debate about the integrity of India’s electoral process. Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, warned his own party not to gloat over the TMC’s defeat, declaring that “the theft of Assam and Bengal’s mandate is a big step forward by the BJP in its mission to destroy Indian democracy.” He later claimed that roughly every sixth BJP MP in the lower house had won through “vote theft”, and accused the party of pocketing institutions and tampering with voter lists.

These allegations have been dismissed by the ruling party as sour grapes, but they echo a broader pattern of concern among civil society groups. Analysts in London note that the BJP now governs, either alone or with allies, 22 of India’s 28 states. Only the south and the northwest remain beyond its grasp.

The party’s expansion into West Bengal – a state with a strong cultural identity and a history of resistance to Hindu nationalism – marks a critical milestone. In Zurich, commentators have described Modi as more popular than ever at 75, with his Hindu-nationalist agenda proving potent even in regions once thought immune to it. The question for the months ahead is whether the opposition can rebuild credibility or whether the BJP’s relentless march will continue to erode the institutional safeguards of Indian democracy.

For now, the prime minister’s domestic authority is unchallenged, and his international standing has received a clear boost from an admiring White House.