In Assam and West Bengal, where the BJP has focused its campaign on race, identity and illegal immigrants, party cadre have been warned not to lose sight of issues related to development, employment and the economy, which have broader resonance among voters, people familiar with the matter said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is seeking to win a third term in Assam after its decisive victories in 2016 and 2021. In West Bengal, the party aims to oust the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) government after it won 77 seats (now 64) in 2021.
While senior leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, have raised issues of language, identity and illegal immigrants in their speeches in the two states, development remains central to the campaign, people familiar with the matter said. However, the party’s ideological mainstay, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has cautioned against opting for a harshly polarizing election narrative.
The drive for recalibration in Assam came in the wake of a controversial social media post depicting Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma targeting members of a particular community. The post created an uproar, was deleted, and the BJP removed the responsible social media team member. Opposition parties described it as sectarian. Congress leader KC Venugopal posted on the X website describing it as a “call for genocide”.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and some party leaders are concerned about alienating Assamese and Bengali-speaking Muslims, putting the social fabric of the state and the election results at risk, the BJP leader said on condition of anonymity.
“Although there is no ambiguity in our position on the issue of illegal immigrants and their impact on national security and our resources, there is a need to demarcate the gospatia (illegal settlers) of ethnic Muslims in the state…” the leader said.
The Sangh leadership is said to have proposed closer ties with ethnic Muslims in Assam and Bengal in order to campaign against illegal settlers.
“Muslims in Assam and Bengal are not safe from the Gaspathists who are creating law and order problems, are known to harass women and children, and in the tribal belts have started occupying lands forcefully… They (Muslims) should be with the federal government in helping to identify the Gaspathists from Bangladesh and Myanmar so that the law takes its course,” an RSS functionary said.
While the Sangh and a section of leaders in Assam want to showcase infrastructure development, in Bengal they want to focus on corruption and administrative shortcomings of the TMC government.
Muslims constitute 34% of Assam’s population (2011 census) and control 20-25 of the 126 seats in the Assembly. The BJP, facing anti-incumbency after two terms, risks counter-polarization with a hardline stance, a state leader said.
“In places like Dhubri, Nagaon, Hailakandi, Barpeta and Karimganj, Muslims have a dominant position. There are about 10 other areas where they can change the outcome if they choose strategic voting. The battle for Muslim votes is between the Congress and the All India United Democratic Front, and if the votes are not divided, it will not be an advantage (for the BJP),” the state leader said.
In West Bengal too, BJP cadres have been asked to avoid confusing illegal settlers with Indian Muslims, who constitute 27% of the population (2011 census) and influence 80-90 seats in districts including Murshidabad, Malda, Uttar Dinajpur, Birbhum and South 24 Parganas.
“The issue of SIR (Special Intensive Review) has already been politicized by the TMC. On the ground, there is an attempt to present SIR as a way to deprive minorities of their rights, which is not true. While we will continue to push back against the illegal settlers who are not only a danger to the people of Bengal but a threat to the safety of the nation, we will reach out to Muslims with facts. The BJP wants development in the state but will not allow vote bank politics to play a role,” he said. “It casts a shadow over national security,” said a Bangladeshi leader, speaking anonymously.
