West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the BJP ahead of the 2026 state elections, accusing the opposition party of instigating riots.
Addressing a public meeting in Purulia, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that if the BJP comes to power, the public will be unable to consume non-vegetarian food.
Reiterating his allegations against the BJP, he accused it of attacks on Bengali speaking people in other states.
Chief Minister Mamata said, “Fish is not eaten in BJP-ruled states. If BJP comes to power, you will not be able to eat meat or even eggs. BJP is one-sided; they do not believe in any religion. These people instigate riots. They come to power by instigating riots, and come to power by killing people. Attacks on tribals, attacks on women mostly happen in BJP-ruled states. Attacks on our Bengali-speaking people happen in other states. We do not oppress anyone.”
TMC has on several occasions strongly criticized the BJP over the attacks on Bengali migrant workers in other states. The party has made this issue an election issue ahead of the 2026 West Bengal elections.
This morning, Bihar Minister of State Dilip Jaiswal expressed concern over infiltration from Bangladesh and cited open borders and lack of fencing in some areas. He supported Home Minister Amit Shah’s call for fencing to stop the problem.
Talking to the media, Jaiswal said that infiltrators have been taking advantage of West Bengal’s border with Bangladesh for the last 30 to 40 years.
He said, “Bangladesh has a border with Bengal, for the last 30-40 years infiltrators have been taking advantage of this and they try to infiltrate through routes where there is no fencing… The Home Minister has rightly expressed concern over the need for fencing to stop infiltration.”
The issue of Bangladeshi infiltrators has been prominent in the months leading up to the elections.
Voting for the elections in West Bengal will be held in two phases, with the first phase scheduled for April 23 and the second phase for April 29. Counting of votes will take place on May 4.
In the last assembly elections held in eight phases in the state in 2021, Trinamool Congress registered a landslide victory with 213 seats in a tough fight with the BJP, while the BJP got 77 seats. Congress and the Left Front could not win a single seat in the last state elections.
