In a rain-drenched display of defiance in Kolkata, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led a protest march on Wednesday, alleging systemic harassment of Bengali-speaking migrants in BJP-ruled states and accusing the Election Commission of India of facilitating voter suppression under the guise of electoral roll revision.
Her remarks come amid the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision of voter lists in West Bengal, a state gearing up for Assembly elections next year. Banerjee has claimed that the exercise is a covert attempt to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and disenfranchise poor and migrant voters.
“People whose names are not on the voter list might be sent to jail,” she warned, urging citizens to verify their names even if it meant skipping work. “When the revision starts, leave everything and check the list. Your name missing could have consequences.”
Allegations of Migrant Targeting
The Trinamool Congress chief sharpened her attack on the BJP-led central and state governments, accusing them of unjustly targeting Bengali migrant workers in states like Odisha, Assam, and Delhi. “They are calling Bengalis Rohingyas. Rohingyas are in Myanmar, not here. BJP should be ashamed,” she declared.
According to Banerjee, nearly 22 lakh Bengali-speaking migrant workers face harassment across various states. She cited a case from Assam, where a Bengali farmer received a Foreigners’ Tribunal notice, and other recent instances of eviction and detention in Delhi and Odisha.
“I urge all our workers outside Bengal to come back. You will be safe here. West Bengal is still a part of India,” she said during the march, framing the situation as a systemic attack on Bengali identity and dignity.
Countering Infiltration Allegations
In response to BJP’s accusations that her government protects illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, Banerjee countered, “The border is under the Home Ministry. Why don’t they stop infiltrators if it’s such a concern?”
She dismissed BJP’s proposal to verify voter identities using the 2002 electoral rolls, pointing out that the population has changed significantly over the years due to deaths and births.
BJP Hits Back
Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari was quick to counter Banerjee’s claims, accusing her of using “Bengali asmita” (identity) as a political smokescreen to cover up corruption and misgovernance.
“If she truly cared about Bengalis, why has her government failed to address the plight of thousands of unemployed teachers and job seekers protesting in the streets of Kolkata?” Adhikari asked. He also questioned the hiring of “outsiders” in the state administration, alleging that loyalty had been prioritized over merit.
“Everyone understands that her politics of Bengali identity is just a way to divert attention from a mountain of corruption,” Adhikari posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Political Battlelines Drawn
The row comes just months ahead of the crucial 2026 Assembly elections, with the voter list controversy likely to become a flashpoint between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP. The TMC appears poised to double down on its narrative of “outsider interference,” while the BJP is sharpening its focus on corruption, governance failures, and illegal immigration.
As identity politics takes center stage, Wednesday’s march may mark the start of a high-voltage election season in West Bengal.
