The otherwise beleaguered Bengal BJP unit was buoyant with Sunday's sweep of the Hindi heartland, as it renewed its 35-seat Lok Sabha pledge for the state and made claims of felling prematurely the Mamata Banerjee government.

“The election results in those three states will help our party in Bengal win 35 seats (in Lok Sabha polls),” state BJP unit chief Sukanta Majumdar said as soon as his party emerged victorious in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

The target of winning 35 out of Bengal’s 42 Lok Sabha seats — deemed audacious by many — was set by Union home minister Amit Shah in his April 14 rally in Birbhum’s Suri.

A source said the BJP's 35-seat narrative faded after Trinamul’s mighty show in the July 8 rural polls.

On November 29 at his public rally in Esplanade, instead of setting any target, Shah urged people to make the BJP win in such numbers that Narendra Modi would have to declare on being sworn in that he could become Prime Minister for the third consecutive term because of Bengal's contribution.

The 35-seat narrative for Bengal returned on Sunday.

“The results proved Modi remains the last word in the country. We are confident of winning 35 seats in Bengal,” said Meena Devi Purohit, BJP leader in the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, who took part in the celebrations at 6 Muralidhar Sen Lane party headquarters that sparkled with illuminations. BJP leaders also burst fireworks and distributed sweets.

Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said BJP MLAs would celebrate in the Assembly on Monday and claimed his party would sweep Bengal in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

“This was a Modi storm. Next year, there will be a Modi tsunami.... This (state) government won't continue till 2026,” added Adhikari.