Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday sharpened the BJP’s campaign pitch on infiltration, declaring that while “only names of infiltrators are being deleted now” from electoral rolls, they would be “pushed out of the state” if the party forms the next government in West Bengal with a full majority.
Addressing the BJP’s Poriborton Yatra in South 24 Parganas district, his first visit since publication of the revised electoral rolls, Shah accused the ruling All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) of compromising border security.
“Bengal is a bordering state. The TMC cannot ensure security because they allow infiltration. Only the BJP can provide security to a bordering state like Bengal,” he said.
His remarks come days after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls recorded 63.66 lakh deletions, 8.3 per cent of the electorate, reducing the voter base to just over 7.04 crore ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. More than 60.06 lakh electors have also been placed under the “under adjudication” category, subject to further scrutiny.
“I want to assure Hindu refugees that not a single one among them will lose their citizenship,” Shah said, drawing a distinction between what the BJP describes as “infiltrators” and persecuted minorities from neighbouring countries.
Also read: Shah to address ‘Paribartan Rath Yatra’ in Bengal
“Right now only names are being deleted from voter rolls, and Mamata Didi is nervous. Once BJP forms the government, we will identify and remove every infiltrator from Bengal,” he added.
The Home Minister alleged that infiltration and corruption would stop only after the BJP assumes office with a clear majority. Targeting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, he claimed the state had become a “swarg (heaven) for infiltrators”.
In a sharp political attack, Shah also referred to TMC leader Humayun Kabir laying the foundation stone for a mosque modelled on Ayodhya’s Babri Masjid at Rejinagar in Murshidabad district last year, calling it part of a “well-crafted conspiracy”.
Reviving the BJP’s “bhaipo” line of attack, Shah said if voters “make the mistake of voting again for the TMC, Bengal will have a government run by nephew Abhishek Banerjee and not by Mamata Didi”.
The speech marks a renewed intensification of the BJP’s campaign narrative centred on border security and citizenship as the 2026 Assembly polls approach.
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