Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, has really stepped up her criticism of the BJP before the state’s election (which is happening in two parts). She’s basically calling the BJP completely unreliable. At a meeting in North t24 Parganas, she said you could even trust a snake before you’d trust the BJP and told people all over the state to vote TMC.
Sharp Rhetoric at Tentulia Rally
In Tentulia, Banerjee claimed the BJP is changing the election process and getting to institutions to control them. She said that nothing in the country is fair and impartial while the national government is in charge, and that the BJP has “bought” everyone. This has made the conflict between the TMC and BJP even worse.
Banerjee also says the BJP doesn’t respect the way people in places other than West Bengal have voted. She said that for the election in Assam (which had all its voting on April 9th for 126 seats), 50,000 people were brought from Uttar Pradesh by train in order to change the results.
Claims of Imported Voters and Officer Transfers
She believes the same thing is happening in West Bengal. She says people, money, and drugs are coming into the state, and she connects the Election Commission moving lots of police and government workers to this alleged plan.
A lot of these workers were moved shortly after the election date was announced. The Election Commission usually moves people around to be sure they are fair, but Banerjee thinks these moves are part of a wider problem caused by the BJP’s power. The BJP has said before that they haven’t done anything like that.
Dispute Over Voter Roll Deletions and NRC Comparisons
Banerjee is seriously worried about the list of voters in West Bengal being accurate. She refers to something called the “SIR exercise,” and says 90 lakhs (9 million) names have been removed, many from people in the Scheduled Caste and even some from her own voting area.
She says a newspaper reported that 60 lakhs (6 million) of the removed names were Hindu and 30 lakhs (3 million) were Muslim. While people at the meeting couldn’t confirm these numbers themselves, it adds to the bigger argument about who is allowed to vote and if things are being done correctly.
Comparing this to the National Register of Citizens in Assam, Banerjee said 19 lakhs (1.9 million) names were left off that list, 13 lakhs (1.3 million) being Hindu and 6 lakhs (600,000) Muslim. She says these figures go against what the BJP says, and warns people not to trust them when it comes to citizenship and who people are.
A Statewide Pitch From the TMC Chief
Presenting herself as the leader of the TMC throughout West Bengal, Banerjee told the crowd that if they want a TMC government with her in charge, she is the candidate in all the voting areas. She thinks TMC people will “fight and win” despite what others are doing to interfere.
The meeting also had some happier parts, including Banerjee briefly dancing on stage. This showed how confident the TMC’s campaign on the ground is, but the main message was still about the fairness of the election and being proud of where you’re from.
Culture, Migration, and Law-and-Order Themes
Banerjee says that if the BJP were in charge of West Bengal, they would limit what kinds of meat people are allowed to eat, and says this is about the freedom to have your own culture. She says Bengal has a long history of different foods, unlike the stricter rules in states where the BJP is in power. The BJP usually says they don’t have rules about all food.
She also criticized the national government for not protecting West Bengal workers who have moved to states run by the BJP. She said to the Prime Minister, “You can’t protect West Bengal people in other states, but you say you’ll create a ‘Golden Bengal’ when you speak at rallies.”
Manifesto Crossfire and Security Claims
The TMC has also criticized the BJP’s plan for West Bengal on national security and stopping people from illegally entering the country, saying the promise to “stop infiltration” is just something they say without proof. The TMC has used statements on social media to ask where the evidence is for these claims and pointed to recent security problems to show the BJP doesn’t have a good record.
The BJP, however, says stopping illegal entry and controlling the border are important for the country’s safety, and often say they will be much stricter with how things are run. This back and forth shows that security, who is a citizen, and whether institutions are fair will be the main issues in the campaign.
What Lies Ahead: Dates and Stakes
The election for all 294 seats in the West Bengal Assembly will happen in two parts, on April 23rd and April 29th, and the votes will be counted on May 4th. How the Election Commission makes sure the election is fair, checks the list of voters, and watches people crossing the border will be looked at very carefully as the campaign ends.
With both sides saying very strong things, the election will depend on how many people vote, how well the parties are organized at the local level, and how they deal with the claims about voters being removed from the list and outside people influencing the election. For a lot of voters, whether they trust the system and if their local culture will be protected could be the deciding factors in this very close election.
