The political battle in West Bengal escalated on Sunday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi launching a sharp attack on the ruling Trinamool Congress over law and order, while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged voters to “take revenge” over alleged deletions from electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
West Bengal is set to vote in two phases on April 23 and 29, with counting scheduled for May 4.
Modi flags Malda incident, calls it ‘maha jungleraj’
Addressing an election rally in Cooch Behar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the recent picketing of judicial officers in Malda as a sign of “maha jungle raj” under the TMC government, news agency PTI reported.
“When even judicial officers are not safe, how can you expect that common people will be safe under TMC rule? What happened in Malda is an example of TMC’s maha jungle raj,” Modi said, referring to the incident where judges were allegedly held for hours during protests over voter roll revisions.
He further alleged that “democracy is bleeding every day on the sacred soil of Bengal” and accused the Mamata Banerjee government of being “hell-bent on murdering law and order”.
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The Prime Minister also linked the issue to broader concerns of infiltration and governance. He claimed there had been a “dangerous demographic change” in border areas and alleged that infiltrators were being protected by TMC networks.
‘TMC’s time is up’, says PM, promises action after May 4
Stepping up his attack, Modi said the turnout at his rally indicated that “the Trinamool Congress’s time is up”, a separate ANI report stated. “In this election, fear will be driven out of Bengal. Confidence will awaken through the BJP’s grand victory,” he said, urging voters not to be intimidated.
He warned of action after the results: “After May 4, the law will take its course, no matter how big a goon it may be, this time justice will be served.”
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Contrasting the BJP with the ruling party, Modi said, “On one hand, there is fear of TMC, and on the other hand, you have the trust of BJP… On one hand, there is fear of infiltration, and on the other hand, there is trust in the BJP which can drive away infiltrators from the state.”
Mamata hits back, urges voters to ‘take revenge’
Responding to the BJP’s attacks, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called on voters to use the ballot box to respond to alleged irregularities in the voter list, PTI reported. “Cast your votes to take revenge for deletion of people’s names, and against the SIR so that the results reflect that,” Banerjee said at a rally in Samserganj, as per PTI.
She alleged that names were being removed from electoral rolls unfairly and urged affected voters to approach tribunals.
The TMC chief also claimed that the deletions were politically motivated and hinted at the involvement of central leadership.
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Banerjee accused the Election Commission of “deleting names of some, while intimidating some others” during the SIR process, the report noted.
She also raised concerns about the voting process, alleging that EVMs could malfunction in certain areas and instructing party workers to demand replacements instead of repairs if issues arise.
Questioning the need for fresh revisions, she asked why the same electoral rolls used in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections could not be used again.
The CM also accused the BJP of “spreading venom” in the name of religion and claimed that both Hindu and Muslim voters had been affected by deletions.
