Almost a year ahead of the Bengal Assembly polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi blew the poll bugle as he pushed the anti-Trinamool narrative at the public meeting in Alipurduar on Thursday, a day after he had set the political tone for the BJP through his official X handle.

Modi, in his first visit to Bengal after Operation Sindoor, labelled the Mamata Banerjee-led regime as a “nirmam (ruthless) government", emphasising five “crises” impeding the state's development.

Mamata was quick in her rebuttal that her government was “manobik” (humane) and did not resort to “jumla".

“These days, West Bengal is beleaguered with many crises, and I am elaborating five of these. There is violence and anarchy everywhere; the women are living amid insecurity and facing heinous crimes; youths are disappointed because of unemployment; extensive corruption has led to a lack of confidence in the system; and the self-interested politics of the ruling dispensation,” he told the gathering of 50,000-odd people.

On Wednesday, Modi, in a post on his official X handle, said that people of Bengal were “tired of the corruption and poor administration of the TMC”.

On Thursday, Modi referred to the SSC scam and accused the state government of “destroying” the education system in Bengal.

“The TMC government here has shattered the future of thousands of school teachers and their families. Because of the sin of TMC leaders, the future of children is at stake. This government has destroyed the entire education system. Is this how a government should run?” he said.

“Despite all these, they are not ready to admit their fault, and instead raise finger at the judiciary,” he added.

Modi’s reference to the SSC scam comes at a time when thousands of teachers and non-teaching staff are spending days amid uncertainty following the Supreme Court’s order invalidating the appointments of over 25,000 employees. A small group of teachers, who had lost their jobs, went to the rally venue to convey their grievance to Modi but were denied an audience.

In his speech, Modi also played the polarisation card as he spoke about the recent spate of violence in Malda and Murshidabad — two districts where Muslims are a majority — and questioned the state of the law and order in Bengal.

“These incidents are glaring examples of 'nirmamata' (ruthlessness) of the state government. The party in power engages in politics of appeasement and has thus given a free hand to criminals. Elected representatives of the ruling party have identified houses and have attacked those while the police stood as mute spectators,” said Modi.

Modi also tried to drive home the point that the Trinamool government was impeding centrally funded projects.

“Around 16 major infrastructural projects of the central government worth around ₹90,000 crore are on hold because of the state government. Rail tracks could not be laid, the metro (rail) network could not be expanded, and highways and hospitals could not be built. The TMC has simply duped the people of Bengal,” he said.

He mentioned the social welfare schemes of the Centre and accused the state government of not implementing them in Bengal.

“The Bengal government skipped the Niti Aayog meeting. This is because development is not a priority for TMC as the party is busy doing politics all 24 hours,” asserted Modi.

Modi asked BJP leaders and workers to gear up and remove the TMC from power in Bengal, drawing parallels to neighbouring BJP-ruled states like Assam, Tripura and Odisha.

“You (the BJP leaders and workers) should get ready to take the challenge to relieve the people of Bengal from the TMC’s politics and restore democracy in this state. We will give a guarantee of proper governance, rule of law and development,” Modi said.

Addressing the rally in a district with a large tribal population, the Prime Minister attacked the Mamata government for doing nothing for the economically backward community. Tribal population plays a crucial role in determining the outcome of at least four of the five Assembly seats in Alipurduar. The district has around 27 per cent ST population, most of whom work in the 65-odd tea estates of the district and some forest villages. In 2021, the BJP won all five Assembly seats.

Mamata countered Modi's allegations. “Our government works with a humanitarian approach for people across society. We don’t play divisive politics and resort to jumla," she said. Jumla loosely translates to all talk and no action, a charge the Opposition has often levelled at the Modi government.