Fresh unrest in Bangladesh, including attacks on cultural organisation Chhayanaut, has emerged as a weapon for the BJP in Bengal to consolidate Hindu voters and the educated middle class, a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a rally in the border district of Nadia.
Modi will attend a government programme at Taherpur in the Ranaghat Lok Sabha constituency, and also address a mass rally aimed at wooing lakhs of Hindu refugees in the area. The Bangladesh issue holds significance for them, as many of these refugees were forced to leave their country because of persecution.
"In the afternoon tomorrow, 20th December, I will address a BJP rally in Ranaghat. The people of West Bengal are benefiting from numerous pro-people initiatives of the Central Government. At the same time, they are suffering due to the TMC’s misgovernance in every sector," Modi wrote in his X account on Friday evening.
"The loot and intimidation of TMC have crossed all limits. That is why, BJP is the people’s hope," the Prime Minister added.
The Trinamool Congress immediately countered Modi with charges of central deprivation and humiliation of Bengali polymaths.
Referring to the ongoing Bangladesh unrest, including attacks on cultural institutions and newspaper offices, the BJP leadership is pitching a new narrative comparing the situation in Bangladesh with that of Bengal under Mamata Banerjee’s regime.
"Last night, Islamist mobs vandalised Chhayanaut Bhavan, a historic institution and a cornerstone of Bengali arts and culture in Dhaka. The pattern unfolding in Bangladesh is unmistakable: attacks on media houses, journalists, and cultural centres, carried out under Islamist pressure and intimidation," BJP IT chief Amit Malviya wrote on X.
Since Thursday night, Bangladesh has been witnessing widespread violent protests following the death of Inquilab Mancha leader Sharif Osman Hadi, a prominent face of the July uprising last year that led to the ouster of then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. With the onset of the protests, multiple anti-India groups attacked the Indian High Commission in Chittagong.
"This is a warning. This is exactly how societies unravel when extremism is appeased and lawlessness is normalised. It is also why the trajectory of West Bengal under Mamata Banerjee is deeply worrying," Malviya, the Bengal BJP co-incharge, added, claiming that if Mamata’s “decrepit regime” continued beyond 2026, the consequences for Bengal would be irreversible.
Trinamool accused Malviya of desperately trying to equate Bengal with Bangladesh, and questioned Modi and external affairs minister S. Jaishankar on whether they endorsed his statement.
"Amit Malviya’s reckless commentary on foreign relations isn’t just partisan filth — it directly undermines India’s sovereignty and diplomacy. A clear question to the @PMOIndia, @narendramodi & @DrSJaishankar,@MEAIndia: Do you endorse this statement or not?" asked Trinamool state general secretary Tanmoy Ghosh, who also lodged a police complaint against Malviya in the evening against his post.
"Whenever national interest, foreign relations or diplomacy were at stake, @MamataOfficial and @AITCofficial stood firmly with the Union Government, beyond party lines. We believe in serving the people. @amitmalviya chooses to manipulate people for elections. Pathetic," he added.
BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya and several other functionaries have raised the Bangladesh issue, recalling how Islamist fundamentalists had destroyed Bangladesh’s cultural heritage. The party’s social media unit has posted multiple messages warning people that Mamata’s Bengal could be heading in a similar direction.
BJP leaders said it remained uncertain whether Modi, during his visit to Taherpur, would speak on the Bangladesh issue, as the Prime Minister usually avoids international matters in political rallies. However, a section of the leadership believes that even a brief reference could help the BJP consolidate Hindu voters, particularly the educated middle class.
“We have noticed that a large number of people, mainly from Bengal’s cultural and educational sectors, have been criticising the attack on Chhayanaut and the arson at newspaper offices. The party will certainly highlight these developments,” said a senior BJP leader.
Several academics and cultural personalities expressed their concern.
Amitra Sudan Bhattacharya, a Rabindranath Tagore researcher, said he was worried about both sides of Bengal following attacks on culture and the cultural environment.
“This is very unfortunate. Chhayanaut, a cultural heritage institution in Bangladesh, was attacked. Earlier, we saw a statue of Rabindranath Tagore being vandalised in Bangladesh. Similarly, the bust of Vidyasagar was vandalised in our state. The cultural environment in both Bangladesh and Bengal is under threat,” Bhattacharya said.
The Vidyasagar bust in Calcutta had been destroyed allegedly by a mob that emerged from a rally led by Amit Shah in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Shah was then the national president of the BJP.
Since the ouster of Hasina in August last year, the BJP has projected the Bangladesh turmoil as a political issue in Bengal to consolidate Hindu voters. A section of the leadership believes that the uprising in the neighbouring country, followed by attacks on Hindus, has helped the party strengthen its outreach among Hindu voters in the state.
A section of Trinamool leaders, speaking off the record, also admitted that the unrest in Bangladesh impacted Bengal’s political atmosphere.
Political scientist Biswanath Chakraborty said the Bangladesh strife, marked by attacks on cultural hubs and democratic institutions, would help the BJP consolidate Hindu voters.
“The BJP will certainly reap political dividends from the fresh violence in Bangladesh, as atrocities against Hindus and attacks on cultural hubs by Islamic extremists will help it consolidate Hindu voters in Bengal ahead of the elections,” Chakraborty said.
“On the other hand, Mamata will have to be very cautious while addressing minorities during campaign rallies to prevent the BJP from pushing a fresh narrative of Muslim appeasement,” he added.