Modi sharpens BJP’s Bengal poll pitch targets TMC on infiltration law and order

Malda/Singur, Jan 18 (PTI) As the pre-poll narrative ahead of the high-stakes West Bengal polls gains momentum, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, through twin rallies, targeted the TMC government, foregrounding infiltration and law and order as BJP's core campaign issues.
    Casting the 294-member Assembly polls as a contest between the TMC’s “maha jungle raj” and the BJP’s governance model, Modi accused the ruling party of "playing with national security" by protecting infiltrators for electoral gain and said only the saffron party could restore order, revive development and secure the state's borders.
    In both the rallies, first in Malda district on Saturday and in Singur in Hooghly district on Sunday, Modi repeatedly flagged infiltration, alleging that illegal migration had flourished under the Mamata Banerjee-led government as the BJP sharpened its pitch ahead of the polls in a state where it is TMC's principal challenger.
    Modi's Bengal engagements began on Saturday with a mix of government programmes and political messaging.
    Before addressing the Malda rally, he launched rail and road infrastructure projects worth around Rs 3,250 crore and flagged off the first Vande Bharat sleeper train between Howrah and Guwahati, underlining the Centre's development pitch.
    The focus at the rally, however, decisively shifted to infiltration, a theme that dominated his political speeches over the next two days.
    Addressing the rally in the Muslim-majority district of north Bengal, Modi alleged that illegal migration had altered Bengal's demography, fuelled riots and thrived under what he described as the TMC's "patronage and syndicate raj".
    "Infiltration is a very big challenge for Bengal," Modi said, claiming that demographic changes were visible on the ground.
    "People tell me that in many places differences are emerging in language and dialect. Due to the increasing population of infiltrators, riots have started occurring in many areas, including Malda and Murshidabad," he said.
    Alleging an "alliance between infiltrators and the ruling party", Modi said a BJP government would take strict action against infiltration, accusing the TMC of "thuggery" and a politics of "threatening and intimidating the poor".
    The PM also sought to draw a political distinction between infiltrators and persecuted refugees, particularly the Matua and Namasudra communities, a key BJP support base since 2019.
    Against the backdrop of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which has triggered anxiety in refugee-dominated areas, he offered reassurance.
    "This is Modi's guarantee that genuine refugees, including Matua and Namasudra families who fled religious persecution in neighbouring countries, need not fear. The Constitution gives them the right to live here and the CAA ensures their protection," he said.
    The twin emphasis, a hard line on infiltration coupled with protective assurances to refugee communities, underscored the BJP's attempt to position itself as both a defender of national security and a guarantor of refugee rights in a state where such communities' influence is in over 50 Assembly seats.
    After the Malda rally, Modi went to Assam for official engagements and an overnight stay before returning to West Bengal on Sunday to address a government programme and a rally at Singur.
    At Singur, where the abandoned Tata Nano factory remains a reminder of the 2008 agitation that forced Tata Motors to exit Bengal, Modi linked infiltration to what he described as a wider collapse of governance, law and order and investor confidence.
    Accusing the ruling party of shielding infiltrators for vote-bank politics, Modi said ending the TMC's "maha jungle raj" was essential to restore stability and development in the state.
    He alleged that infiltrators using forged documents must be identified and sent back, and accused the state government of blocking border fencing despite appeals from the Centre.
    "The TMC can go to any extent to protect infiltrators, giving them shelter and creating fake documents," Modi alleged, urging voters to back the BJP to "secure borders, restore law and order and put Bengal back on the path of growth".
    While the saffron party's Bengal unit sought to underline the state's missed economic opportunities by holding the Singur rally as a marquee political event, Modi stressed that restoring law and order was the first prerequisite for attracting industry and investment.
    "Investment will come only when law and order improves," he said, alleging that rioters, syndicates and mafias enjoyed a free run under TMC rule.
    Appealing directly to mothers and sisters, who together account for nearly half of the state's electorate, Modi urged women and youth to take the lead in ending what he described as a climate of fear.
    Modi sought to convert the rallies into a broader call for political change, coining the campaign slogan, "Paltano darkar, chai BJP sarkar" (There is a need for change; we want a BJP government).
    The BJP's renewed push comes amid a charged political atmosphere, with poll observers saying controversies over the SIR and the Enforcement Directorate's searches at the TMC's political consultancy firm, I-PAC, have sharpened battle lines well ahead of the 2026 showdown.
    Together, the back-to-back rallies and government programmes reflected a familiar BJP playbook, blending development messaging with sharp political attacks, as the party seeks to turn the coming Assembly elections into a referendum on infiltration, governance and law and order.

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