War of campaign in Bengal BJP's Hindu vote pitch elicits sharp response from TMC

Kolkata, Mar 18 (PTI) Parts of West Bengal witnessed the start of a campaign war on Tuesday with the TMC choosing to respond to BJP's Hindutva pitch for the assembly elections next year by undercutting the saffron brigade's lingo with its own set of political slogans.
    On Monday, parts of Chinsurah in Hooghly district witnessed the appearance of BJP's banners and flexes, which read 'Hindu Hindu Bhai Bhai, 2026 e BJP ke Chai' (All Hindus are brothers, we want the BJP in power in 2026) ostensibly setting the campaign tone for the next year's state polls.
    The IT and social media cell of the ruling TMC responded swiftly with multiple counter-slogans on banners appearing on Tuesday in parts of north Kolkata, including at the Shyambazar five-point crossing, which retained the opposition's Hindu-centric rhetoric but questioned public policies of the BJP-led Centre.
    'Hindu Jodi Bhai Bhai, Gas-e Kyano Chhar Nai' (If Hindus are brothers, why do people have no relief in prices of cooking gas?), one of the TMC banners read.
    Another TMC flex read: 'Hindu Hindu Bhai Bhai, Kintu Bangali Purno Mantri Nai', meaning 'Hindus could be brothers, yet there's no cabinet minister from Bengal'.
    Additionally, similar banners targeting the Aadhar card linkage issue, high fuel costs and inflation under the BJP rule were also observed. All slogans were displayed in Bengali, reinforcing the local impact of the campaign.
    The campaign, Trinamool sources confirmed, was aimed at countering the BJP's slogan that underscores the party's appeal to the Hindu community.
    "The so-called Hindu brotherhood of the BJP comes to the fore only when there's an election knocking at the door. At other times, the only 'bhais' they recognize are the likes of Mehul bhai," alleged Debangshu Bhattacharya, in-charge of the TMC IT cell.
    He apparently referred to fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi.
    "This was our campaign to expose the hypocrisy of the BJP leadership who chants Hindutva but renders lakhs of Hindus stateless in the name of NRC. Bengal knows how to choose between the Hinduism of Swami Vivekananda and that of PM Modi," Bhattacharya claimed.
    The final NRC of Assam released on August 31, 2019, excluded 19,06,657 applicants, making them stateless. A total of 3,11,21,004 names were included out of 3,30,27,661 applicants.
    BJP's state spokesperson and MP Samik Bhattacharya blamed the TMC for driving a wedge through communities and dividing people.
    "The banners were spontaneous reactions from people who have called the TMC bluff of first trying to project itself as Hindu sympathisers and then bowing before fundamentalist forces at Furfura Sharif. They are the ones responsible for dividing the people of Bengal," he said.
    Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already reinvigorated the 'Khela Hobe' (Let's Play) slogan, signalling an aggressive campaign ahead of the 2026 polls.
    She has accused the BJP of attempting to manipulate Bengal's voter lists by fraudulently linking Aadhaar details, potentially disenfranchising genuine voters.
    Banerjee has vowed to resist such alleged malpractices and warned of potential protests against the Election Commission if these issues persist.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)