Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, campaigning in north Bengal for the BJP on Saturday, claimed Bengal was facing an “identity crisis” and blamed successive state governments.

“First the Congress, then the CPM, and now, 15 years of Trinamool Congress rule have ruined everything. Instead of leaders, Bengal is producing losers. Loot, deprivation and insecurity prevail. Women are unsafe,” he told a public meeting in the Dhupguri Assembly constituency of Jalpaiguri.

At the outset, Yogi referred to north Bengal’s Rajbanshi community. He also hailed figures such as Chila Roy, Panchanan Barma, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Subhas Chandra Bose, Swami Vivekananda, Khudiram Bose and Rabindranath Tagore.

“But these days, Bengal has become a hub of infiltrators, ‘goondas’, and the mafia. We have to change this. That's why people want a BJP government here,” he said.

Yogi drew comparisons with Uttar Pradesh, claiming that before 2017, the state faced similar conditions — riots, curfews and restrictions on festivals.

“After the formation of a ‘double-engine’ government (when the Yogi government toppled the Samajwadi government), the situation changed. You can see the difference by visiting Uttar Pradesh now. A similar model will be implemented in Bengal if the BJP comes to power. We will not allow Bengal to become a ground for extremist diktats. This is the land of ‘Vande Mataram’, of spirituality, of Maa Kali, Durga and Mahadev,” said the Hindutva hardliner in another public meeting in Mathabhanga, Cooch Behar.

He referred to infiltration, an issue that the saffron camp has been consistently emphasising during the ongoing poll campaign.

“Bangladeshi infiltrators are infringing upon the rights of Indian citizens. Trinamool, on the other hand, is busy with appeasement politics. We will stop such practices,” said Yogi.

'Uttar Bihar' faux pas

Siliguri mayor and Trinamool's Siliguri candidate Gautam Deb criticised Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday for erroneously saying “Uttar Bihar” instead of “Uttar Banga (north Bengal)" during his poll rally in Mathabhanga on Saturday. “Referring to ‘Uttar Banga’ as ‘Uttar Bihar’ is unacceptable,” Deb said.

He alleged that the BJP was bringing in leaders from other states who, according to him, misrepresented and undermined Bengal’s tradition and culture by delivering scripted speeches.

Additional reporting by our Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri correspondents