The BJP will begin a statewide movement on December 4, addressing multiple issues related to the plight of farmers to woo the agrarian community, which constitutes around 58 per cent of Bengal's total electorate.
“Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi will distribute the 21st instalment under the PM-Kisan scheme on Wednesday, through which 46 lakh farmers from Bengal will receive financial benefits. The Bengal government has not allowed the implementation of many schemes related to farmers’ welfare, and its anti-farmer policy has brought serious hardship to the farming community under the Mamata Banerjee regime,” said Samik Bhattacharya, BJP state president.
“We will begin a movement on the ground over the plight of farmers on December 4, and it will continue. We believe the farmers’ suffering will end next year with the BJP coming to power,” added Bhattacharya, a Rajya Sabha member.
Bhattacharya claimed that East Burdwan, once famous as the rice bowl of Bengal, has fallen behind in production because of various anti-farmer policies of the state government. He also claimed that potato farmers have been in distress because the state government stopped the interstate sale of the crop last year.
"Over 100 rice mills in East Burdwan were shut down following pressure from the Trinamool Congress, as the land of those units was used for other purposes. Despite a bumper production of potatoes exceeding the state’s demand, the government did not allow the interstate sale of the essential crop to states like Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, and Assam,” said the BJP state unit chief.
Multiple sources said the BJP’s renewed focus on the peasant community is politically significant, as there are 71.23 lakh farming families across the state. A rough estimate suggests that around 3 crore voters in Bengal depend on agriculture. Therefore, addressing the concerns of the peasant community is crucial ahead of next year’s election, apart from the party’s emphasis on polarising Hindu voters.
“Several incidents, including last year’s developments in Bangladesh, are already helping the party rely heavily on Hindu polarisation. However, farmers’ issues remain a major concern for the party, which is why it wants to activate the Kisan Morcha, its peasant wing, more aggressively on the ground,” a senior BJP leader said.
“The party will focus on farmers across all classes and categories of agriculture in the state. It wants to address issues from the tea industry to paddy and potato farmers, while also connecting with sharecroppers and marginal farmers,” said a BJP source, who added that although the party had strengthened its organisation and gained a vote share of around 40 per cent, it could not effectively reach farmers because of organisational lapses.
Bhattacharya also admitted that the party could not reach out to the community or mobilise its cadre to fight for farmers’ rights because its organisation was severely affected after the post-poll violence following the party’s defeat in the 2021 Assembly elections.
“Now we are ready to take up farmers’ issues on the ground and tell them how the ruling TMC has ruined their lives and livelihoods, compared with Narendra Modi’s several pro-peasant schemes,” he said, adding that the party is already on the streets, including in Hooghly’s Singur, to highlight the plight of potato farmers who have been severely affected by the state’s anti-farmer policies.
However, questions remain over whether the BJP’s comparatively weak peasant wing can reach farmers at an adequate scale before the 2026 elections.
The CPM, which had long held influence among farmers through the All India Kisan Sabha, still maintains a base in agrarian districts such as East Burdwan, Hooghly, and Birbhum. Although Trinamool’s peasant wing is not as proactive as the Kisan Sabha, it currently has significant influence over the farming community after 14 years in power.
Both the CPM and Trinamool have criticised the BJP for what they describe as its anti-farmer stance.