Heightened political tensions following the Trinamool Congress’s Martyrs’ Day rally led to a blistering attack from Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of shielding Rohingya and Bangladeshi infiltrators enrolled in the state's voter list.
Addressing the BJP Yuva Morcha's ‘Uttarkanya Abhiyan’ in Siliguri on Monday, Adhikari demanded that West Bengal implement a ‘Special Intensive Revision’ (SIR) of the electoral rolls, similar to the exercise underway in Bihar.
“I challenge Mamata Banerjee, implement SIR in Bengal like Bihar. We won’t allow a single Rohingya or Bangladeshi Muslim to remain in the voter list,” said Adhikari.
He clarified that Indian Muslims have nothing to fear, stressing that the BJP’s opposition was not to citizens but to alleged foreign infiltrators being “used as vote banks.”
The Special Intensive Revision in Bihar requires voters to submit forms and documentation online and to local authorities for verification, a move intended to “purify” voter rolls ahead of elections. Adhikari demanded that Bengal follow suit to weed out what he described as “illegal voters.”
Responding to Mamata Banerjee’s fiery Martyrs’ Day speech, where she vowed to return with a greater majority in 2026, Adhikari issued a pointed rebuttal.
Also read: Mamata launches 'language movement' from Martyrs’ Day stage
“She lost Nandigram to me in 2021. In 2026, I will ensure she becomes a former Chief Minister,” he declared, issuing a direct electoral challenge.
Adhikari also announced plans to return to Uttarkanya on August 4 with 65 BJP MLAs, determined to meet senior government officials, despite Monday’s protest rally being curtailed by police citing a Calcutta High Court order due to the Trinamool event.
Taking repeated swipes at the TMC chief, Adhikari mocked the July 21 rally, labelling it “a gathering of Rohingyas and thieves,” and alleging the crowd had been “bought with rice and egg curry.”
“No programme is allowed on the 21st, because the queen mother, aunt mother, queen of thieves, is speaking at Dharmatala,” he said. “Today, all the smugglers of cows, coal, sand and trees are gathered there. That’s why theft has stopped across Bengal, there’s no one left to steal!” he quipped.
Acknowledging the BJP’s logistical shortcomings, he praised the crowd’s commitment.
“We couldn’t offer eggs, AC buses or even water. But hundreds still came. This is the spirit with which we must defeat TMC,” he added.
At the outset of the rally, Siliguri BJP MLA Shankar Ghosh launched a scathing attack on the TMC leadership, accusing them of contaminating the state’s administrative institutions.
“TMC’s corrupt ministers have polluted Uttarkanya. After 2026, the BJP cabinet will sit here and Uttarkanya will be restored,” he said.
As West Bengal moves steadily towards the high-stakes 2026 Assembly election, political battle lines are hardening. With issues such as voter list integrity, illegal immigration, and corruption taking centre stage, both parties appear to be girding for an intensely polarising campaign.
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