The recent round of state elections in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry has clearly shown that Indian democracy is very much alive and kicking. It has redrawn India’s political map with the BJP now staking a stronger claim from the west to the east. While the BJP has won a third term in Assam, its maiden victory in West Bengal (WB) is particularly noteworthy. Mamata Banerjee not gracefully resigning from the chief minister’s post after having lost elections is unbecoming of the democratic traditions of India. As for how and why the Trinamool Congress (TMC) lost its 15-year hold on the state, there are as many explanations as there are experts. We will leave that crowded space aside and focus instead on the more pressing question of revdis vs development. The challenge before the new government in WB is straightforward: Can it move the state from its current 16th rank in per capita income to the levels of Haryana (third) and Gujarat (fifth), where it already has the advantage of longer governance experience?

During Banerjee’s tenure from 2011-12 to 2025-26, WB recorded an average annual GDP growth rate of just 5 per cent — the lowest amongst all major states and also lower than India’s 6.1 per cent (at constant 2011-12 prices). But this is not merely a story of one government’s tenure. Over the last 25 years (2000-01 to 2025-26), WB’s GDP growth averaged 5.6 per cent, against the national average of 6.3 per cent. It is, therefore, hardly surprising that the state’s ranking in PCI terms has slid from 11th to 16th over this........

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