Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday asserted that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would come to power in West Bengal in the next Assembly elections and vowed to “drive out infiltrators” from the state if elected. Addressing party workers at a public meeting in Kolkata, Shah said the BJP is expanding its organisational footprint across districts and expressed confidence that voters are seeking political change. He alleged that illegal infiltration across the international border has altered the state’s demographic balance and affected security, promising firm action under a BJP-led government.

The senior BJP leader accused the ruling All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) of encouraging appeasement politics and failing to curb cross-border infiltration. He said the party would prioritise national security, border management, and the implementation of central welfare schemes without discrimination if voted to power in the state.

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The infiltration issue has been a recurring theme in BJP’s campaign strategy in eastern India, particularly in states sharing borders with neighbouring countries. The party has frequently linked the matter to national security and citizenship policies, including debates surrounding the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), both of which have triggered political contestation in West Bengal.

West Bengal is currently governed by the TMC under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, whose party secured a decisive mandate in the 2021 Assembly elections. With the next state polls due in 2026, political activity has begun to intensify, setting the stage for a renewed contest between the BJP and the TMC in one of India’s most politically significant states.

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