Saurabh Mukherjee
During his first visit to West Bengal since the BJP’s recent setback in the state, where it lost the majority of Lok Sabha seats it contested, Union Home Minister Amit Shah highlighted “infiltration from Bangladesh” as a significant cause of unrest in Bengal.
Shah urged voters to bring about a “change in Bengal in 2026” when Assembly elections are due, promising that a BJP-led state government would put an end to infiltration and restore peace.
According to The Telegraph, Shah stated,“Bring change to Bengal in 2026 (when Assembly polls are due)…. (A BJP-led state government) will end infiltration and ensure peace in the state.”
“When there is no opportunity for legal (trans-border) movement of people… illegitimate methods of movement arise, which impacts the peace of the nation.… There can be peace in Bengal only after infiltration stops,” he added.
This rhetoric follows Shah’s previous remarks during the Lok Sabha election campaign, where he controversially compared Bangladeshi immigrants to “termites” and asserted that the BJP would secure 35 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal.
However, the BJP won only 12 seats, a decrease from its 2019 tally of 18.
Shah’s statements were made on October 27 in Petrapole, a border town with a port linking India and Bangladesh, where he inaugurated a new passenger terminal and cargo gate.
The emphasis on cross-border infiltration also resonates with the BJP’s polarizing rhetoric in other states.
In September, Bangladesh lodged a formal diplomatic protest following remarks by Amit Shah in Jharkhand, where he accused the Hemant Soren government of allowing migrant “infiltrators” into the state.
On September 23, Bangladesh's foreign ministry summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner Pawan Badhe to register an official complaint over Shah's comments, underscoring the diplomatic sensitivity surrounding cross-border migration issues between the two nations.
“Through the protest note handed over today [23 September] to the Deputy High Commissioner of India in Dhaka, the ministry conveyed its serious reservation, deep sense of hurt and extreme displeasure and called upon the Government of India to advise the political leaders to refrain from making such objectionable and unacceptable remarks,” Bangladesh foreign ministry statement read.
During a rally in Jharkhand, Shah had also linked these migrants to vote banks of parties such as Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal, Rahul Gandhi’s Congress, and Hemant Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). He pledged to remove “illegal immigrants” and replace the “corrupt” JMM government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi echoed a similar theme at a rally in Hazaribagh on Gandhi Jayanti, October 2, where he claimed that the population of Hindus and Adivasis is declining, while that of “Bangladeshi infiltrators” is on the rise under JMM rule.
Jharkhand is due to hold its assembly elections later this year, and the BJP’s leaders have frequently faced criticism for using the “infiltration” issue as a tactic to polarize voters before elections.
Shah urged voters to bring about a “change in Bengal in 2026” when Assembly elections are due, promising that a BJP-led state government would put an end to infiltration and restore peace.
According to The Telegraph, Shah stated,“Bring change to Bengal in 2026 (when Assembly polls are due)…. (A BJP-led state government) will end infiltration and ensure peace in the state.”
“When there is no opportunity for legal (trans-border) movement of people… illegitimate methods of movement arise, which impacts the peace of the nation.… There can be peace in Bengal only after infiltration stops,” he added.
This rhetoric follows Shah’s previous remarks during the Lok Sabha election campaign, where he controversially compared Bangladeshi immigrants to “termites” and asserted that the BJP would secure 35 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal.
However, the BJP won only 12 seats, a decrease from its 2019 tally of 18.
Shah’s statements were made on October 27 in Petrapole, a border town with a port linking India and Bangladesh, where he inaugurated a new passenger terminal and cargo gate.
The emphasis on cross-border infiltration also resonates with the BJP’s polarizing rhetoric in other states.
In September, Bangladesh lodged a formal diplomatic protest following remarks by Amit Shah in Jharkhand, where he accused the Hemant Soren government of allowing migrant “infiltrators” into the state.
On September 23, Bangladesh's foreign ministry summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner Pawan Badhe to register an official complaint over Shah's comments, underscoring the diplomatic sensitivity surrounding cross-border migration issues between the two nations.
“Through the protest note handed over today [23 September] to the Deputy High Commissioner of India in Dhaka, the ministry conveyed its serious reservation, deep sense of hurt and extreme displeasure and called upon the Government of India to advise the political leaders to refrain from making such objectionable and unacceptable remarks,” Bangladesh foreign ministry statement read.
During a rally in Jharkhand, Shah had also linked these migrants to vote banks of parties such as Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal, Rahul Gandhi’s Congress, and Hemant Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). He pledged to remove “illegal immigrants” and replace the “corrupt” JMM government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi echoed a similar theme at a rally in Hazaribagh on Gandhi Jayanti, October 2, where he claimed that the population of Hindus and Adivasis is declining, while that of “Bangladeshi infiltrators” is on the rise under JMM rule.
Jharkhand is due to hold its assembly elections later this year, and the BJP’s leaders have frequently faced criticism for using the “infiltration” issue as a tactic to polarize voters before elections.
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