The BJP’s strategy of subtly urging minority communities to distance themselves from the Trinamool Congress was evident once again on Saturday, when Union minister of state for education Sukanta Majumdar claimed bengal's Muslims were becoming victims of "vote bank politics" and senseless violence.

Majumdar made the remarks to the media in Malda, where he was attending an organisational programme of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Gazole block.

Referring to a recent explosion at Khorimachan village in the Basanti area of South 24-Parganas district, he said such incidents were not new to Bengal.

“The person making the bomb was a Muslim, and the nine-year-old boy injured in the explosion was also a Muslim. This is the time for Muslims to realise that they should no longer be treated merely as a vote bank. As long as they remain trapped in ‘minority’ and ‘majority’ politics, this will continue to be their fate. Their children will be injured or killed,” Majumdar said.

He stressed the importance of education, saying that unless attention was paid to education, culture and research, the Muslim community would not produce doctors, engineers or eminent scientists like former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

The Union minister alleged numerous refugees and infiltrators from Bangladesh present across districts from Cooch Behar to south Bengal.

“Those belonging to Hinduism and a few other religions mentioned in the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will be offered citizenship, while names of others will be removed,” he said.

Majumdar claimed Trinamool's booth-level agents (BLAs) had in several cases pressured booth-level officers (BLOs) to retain suspected infiltrators on the electoral rolls.

“This is a matter of concern for the Election Commission of India. As a responsible political party (the BJP), we will cooperate with the poll panel,” he said.

Majumdar expressed doubts over the accuracy of the recent special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bengal.

“Even smaller states have reported higher numbers of deletions during such revisions. We suspect anomalies in Bengal,” he said.

The two-time Balurghat MP said the BJP was fighting to “save Bengal” and claimed the people were determined to defeat Trinamool in the 2026 polls.

“Trinamool is trying hard (to retain power), but this time the people are ready for change,” he claimed.

He said Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, would address a public meeting at Chanchal in Malda on January 2.

“If the police deny permission, we will approach Calcutta High Court to secure permission for the meeting,” Majumdar said.