Union Minister Amit Shah’s arrival in the city was delayed by two hours after a severe thunderstorm hit the city and its surroundings around midnight on 27 March 2026. Photo credit: ANI
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday (March 28, 2026) stepped up the BJP’s attack on the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal and issued an “indictment” against the Mamata Banerjee-led regime, accusing it of ignoring illegal infiltration and women’s safety, corruption and deterioration of law and order.
Emphasizing that illegal infiltration across state borders has become a matter of national concern, Mr. Shah said the upcoming West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections are crucial for the security of the country as a whole.
“Due to the appeasement and TMC bank policies of the TMC government, the security of the Siliguri corridor is at risk,” the home minister said at a press conference in Siliguri. A crucial corridor is a narrow strip of land in West Bengal connecting the northeast with the rest of India.
Land needed to fence the border
Mr. Shah said the infiltration has led to artificial demographic changes that can only be stopped if the BJP comes to power. He also complained about the 600 km unfenced border with Bangladesh and land tenure issues under the Trinamool regime.
“On May 6, a BJP government will be formed in West Bengal and within 45 days, the Bengal BJP government will provide the center with the land required to fence the border and we will stop the infiltration,” he said. The BJP leader said his party was “determined to identify and deport every infiltrator”.
Referring to the Chief Minister’s repeated attacks against the Election Commission of India, Mr Shah said, “Mamata Didi has always played victim card politics”. He added, “Sometimes she talks about her injury, sometimes she abuses the Election Commission. But the people of Bengal now understand Mamat Didi’s victim card politics very well.”
Electoral journey
Tracking the BJP’s electoral journey in West Bengal, Mr. Shah said the party’s vote share has grown from 10% to 38% and from three seats in the 2016 assembly polls to 77 seats in the 2021 polls. This clearly indicates that the BJP will form the government this time, he said. “This election in Bengal is about rejecting the fear created by TMC, taking the confidence of BJP and joining the path of development of the country,” he said.
The BJP has so far announced candidates for 275 of the 294 assembly seats. The most prominent choices are opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari, who is contesting from Bhabanipur against Ms Banerjee, and the mother of a doctor who was raped and killed at RG Kar Hospital and Medical College in August 2024, who is contesting from Nandigram.
Though the party is yet to release its poll manifesto, BJP candidates have made their allegations against Trinamool MLAs public locally.
Bengali vs Bangladesh
During a press conference, Mr. Shah defended the actions of the Election Commission of India (ECI), which moved over 50 officials after the model code of conduct came into effect.
“Across the country, the Election Commission is transferring officers ahead of polls. This is nothing new. But in West Bengal, most of the officers are working for the government. That’s why there have been more changes,” the home minister said, adding that the redeployment of officers had resulted in fewer incidents of violence during Ram Navami celebrations this year.
The Trinamool Congress leadership held its own press conference to counter Mr Shah’s allegations and asked why the Home Ministry, despite being in power at the Centre, has completely failed to identify and deport illegal immigrants. “They want to erase the border between Bengali and Bangladesh so they can import their hate model of Assam-style detention camps into Bengal,” Trinamool Congress posted on social media.
West Bengal goes to polls in two phases on April 23 and April 29. The votes will be counted on May 4.
Published – 28 March 2026 10:34 IST
