PM Unveils Four-Pronged Bengal Strategy for BJP's 2026 Poll Pitch

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's high-profile visit to Kolkata on August 22 turned into a politically charged event, setting the stage for the Bharatiya Janata Party's campaign ahead of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.

- SUPROTIM MUKHERJEE

PM Modi delivered a message sharply focused on a four-pronged strategy designed to energize the state BJP and create a robust counter-narrative to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government.

With the Assembly polls less than a year away, PM's Kolkata visit set the ground rules for the BJP's Bengal offensive. By flagging the need to address shifting demography, vaulting Central support, slamming alleged corruption in the TMC camp, and claiming the mantle of development, he charted a clear course for local party cadres.

Addressing a massive rally, he began by raising concerns about the changing demography in the border areas of West Bengal, a recurring theme in BJP's national security discourse. He asserted that "demography is being changed in border areas," pointing a finger at alleged infiltration and accusing both Congress and TMC of enabling such activity. According to PM, this phenomenon is not just a local issue but "poses a danger to the country as a whole".

PM Modi announced a "special demography mission against infiltration," referencing his Independence Day speech as he vowed decisive action.

"Those who have come here to snatch the livelihoods of our people, those who have stayed by forging documents... they will have to leave," he declared, linking demographic change to broader social unrest. The Prime Minister alleged that farmers and tribals in border districts are being deceived, land is being seized, and the fabric of society is threatened-all issues he tied to lax administration under the TMC.

In his second thrust, he underscored what he called the Centre's generosity in extending unprecedented financial and project support to West Bengal. "Over the past 11 years, the BJP government at the Centre has consistently provided every kind of support for the development of West Bengal," PM Modi stated, contrasting BJP governance with that of previous governments.