Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his lieutenant Amit Shah emphasised the need to implement the uniform civil code (UCC) in Bengal during their rallies over the past few days, aiming to consolidate Hindu votes.

In recent rallies, the two top BJP leaders have extensively focused on the implementation of the UCC.

During his rally in Siliguri on Sunday, Modi claimed that implementing the UCC would help end the politics of appeasement. “National security is our utmost priority. The BJP promises to implement the UCC in Bengal to put an end to appeasement politics,” Modi said in Siliguri.

Shah went a step further and said the UCC was important to prevent people from having multiple marriages, which BJP leaders considered more specific to address the Hindus ahead of the two-phase elections.

“BJP will certainly implement the UCC. Many people marry three or four times. Once the UCC is implemented, the law will be the same for all,” the Union home minister said at his rally in Birbhum on Monday.

The UCC is a proposed uniform legal framework designed to govern personal affairs such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption, and succession for all citizens, irrespective of religion, caste, or community. Currently, the country follows religion-based personal laws.

Since the election campaign began, the BJP’s main focus has been on infiltration, appeasement politics, corruption, and other issues. A source said that after realising that those issues might not be enough to win over voters, particularly the support of Hindu women, the top two introduced UCC as a fresh narrative.

The BBJP has included the promise of implementing the UCC in its manifesto as one of its 15 key commitments.

However, the UCC campaign has gained momentum over the past three days, with both top leaders actively promising its implementation in Bengal and explaining its importance.

“The party has focused on consolidating Hindu votes since it began its poll preparations. In this election, the party wants to take it to a new level to ensure victory in Bengal. So, it believes focusing on the UCC will help achieve this goal,” said a senior BJP leader in Calcutta.

A leader claimed that the UCC campaign would not only help consolidate Hindu voters but also attract some women voters.

“That is why Amit Shah ji specifically mentioned that the UCC would prevent multiple marriages. Women generally oppose multiple marriages,” said another senior BJP leader, adding that they had sensed that such a campaign had been working on the ground.

Understanding the BJP’s move, chief minister Mamata Banerjee immediately targeted the party over its push for the UCC, claiming that once implemented, it would erase the existence of minorities, OBCs, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes.

“If the UCC is implemented, there will be no existence of minorities, OBCs, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes. They want to impose one nation and one political party in the country,” Mamata said.

Although the UCC proposal suggests exempting Scheduled Areas, a large section of tribal communities has opposed it, arguing that many members of their communities live outside these designated zones.

Trinamool Congress insiders, however, claimed they were not particularly concerned about the UCC as a campaign tool of the BJP, as the election narrative has largely been focused on the SIR and large-scale deletion of names of genuine voters.