The BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari on Monday played the polarisation card in north Bengal, pushing the narrative that Mamata Banerjee and her party Trinamool were encouraging infiltration and diluting the voter list by including names of illegal immigrants.
Adhikari also demanded special intensive revision of the electoral roll in Bengal like the one in Bihar on a day when Mamata, while speaking in Calcutta during Trinamool’s Martyrs’ Day rally, threatened a movement and gherao if the SIR was carried out in Bengal.
“In Calcutta, thousands of the Rohingya have joined the rally…. but in our programme, you will not find a single Rohingya,” said Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of Opposition in the Assembly and the BJP MLA of Nandigram.
Adhikari was talking to newspersons while attending the “Uttarkanya Chalo” march organised by the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), party’s youth front, in Siliguri.
Since this morning, BJP supporters from different north Bengal districts started assembling at Tinbatti More, a prominent crossing in the south Siliguri. Led by Adhikari, Indranil Khan, the state BJYM president, a number of MLAs and other leaders, they marched towards Uttarkanya, the state’s branch secretariat.
The rally crossed Uttarkanya and ended at a ground in nearby Chunabhati, where a public meeting was held. Elaborate police arrangements were made for the programme, which ended without any problem.
“We want SIR (special intensive revision) of the electoral roll in Bengal like Bihar. Indian Muslims should not feel concerned… we are with them. But we will not allow the name of a single Rohingya or Bangladeshi infiltrator in the voter list. Trinamool is winning with the support of these people,” Adhikari said.
The BJP leader criticised the recent attacks and harassment of some of the BJP MLAs in Cooch Behar. He said that next month, he would lead a team of 65 party MLAs to Cooch Behar.
“From there, we will reach Uttarkanya to meet the secretary… we want to see who stops us,” he said.
During his speech, Adhikari claimed that in north Bengal, the BJP’s seats would increase in 2026 Assembly polls. In 2021, the party had won 30 of 54 MLA seats.
“We will win 40 of 54 seats next year. People here will not vote Trinamool as the party has not done anything for north Bengal. Nowadays, chief minister Mamata Banerjee is handing over tea estates to realtors. She has also deprived the hills for years,” the BJP leader alleged.
Adhikari also raised the issue of women’s safety in Bengal, referring to several incidents. “Women are not safe in Bengal,” he said.
He spoke on jobs in Bengal, especially because the chief minister reiterated her claim that the Trinamool government has reduced around 40 per cent of unemployment in Bengal.
“She is claiming jobs have been created. Why then, are lakhs of migrant workers serving in other states? There are 2.15 crore unemployed youths here,” said Adhikari.
On the dais, Adhikari also greeted Malati Roy, the wife of BJP worker Ulen Roy who died of pellet injuries during a march organised by the party in Siliguri on
December 7, 2020.
Adhir meeting
Veteran Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Monday attended a meeting convened by the party at Panchkhela More, a crossing under the Kaliganj police station in Nadia district.
The venue is near the house of Tamanna Khatun, the 10-year-old who died after Trinamool supporters allegedly hurled bombs as part of a victory procession on the day of the Kaliganj bypoll results on June 23.
“Mamata Banerjee seems to be too concerned with migrant workers… it is nothing but a political plan to draw their support and the support of minorities,” said Chowdhury.
The meeting ran into controversy as Kabil Sheikh, the Congress candidate who contested the Kaliganj bypoll, sent written complaints to AICC and PCC leaders, accusing Chowdhury of “intruding” into Nadia.
That the Congress leadership in Nadia is displeased with Chowdhury’s meeting was evident as most stayed away. Some former Congress MLAs and party leaders from Murshidabad were present at the event.
Additional reporting by Alamgir Hossain in Behrampore