New Delhi: “Tumi Bangla bolte paro. Ami o bolte pari. Amaro dadur bari ekhane. Amra sab bharatbasi. Ekhane jonmo niyechi toh to amra kothai bairer lok? (Can you speak Bangla? So can I. My grandfather’s house is here. We’re all Indians. Born in India, how are we outsiders?)”—former Union minister and Lok Sabha MP Smriti Irani spoke in fluent Bengali as she lashed out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and questioned her “outsider” remarks made on 9 April.
Irani made these comments while accompanying Ratna Debnath, mother of the RG Kar rape-murder victim, as she filed her nomination from Panihati in West Bengal. Panihati votes in the second phase on 29 April. The state recorded a 91.46 percent turnout in the first phase Thursday.
Irani also launched a scathing attack on the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) as she flagged issues related to women’s safety and alleged violence and corruption in the state.
The BJP has deployed a number of senior leaders including Irani for election work in the state to counter the “local-vs-outsider” narrative.
Another BJP leader pointed out that party leaders have been told to spend as much time in the state as possible to interact with local workers and have greater involvement in party work at the ground level by being more visible.
As Irani campaigns across the state it is not just her fluent Bengali that is coming in handy, but BJP functionaries point out her ability to connect with people, her “charismatic personality” and her “overall visibility” is also helping the party reach out to voters. Irani was born to a Bengali mother and a Punjabi father.
Named one of the star campaigners for the West Bengal elections, through Irani the party is also trying to connect to one of the biggest votebanks in the state—women voters.
Many within the BJP itself had attributed TMC’s dominance in the state to the support it got from women voters. Addressing rallies, roadshows, seminars and meetings, Irani has been advocating for change in the upcoming West Bengal elections. Results will be out on 4 May.
Irani’s fluent Bengali is helping the BJP shed the ‘outsider’ tag. “See, anyone can learn a few words and use them in public addresses and rallies, but the tonality of aggression comes when you know the language well and have a command over it. It also helps to connect with people psychologically. This is where Irani stands out as she uses words and idioms that are used in villages by the commoners,” said a BJP functionary from the state, not wanting to be named.
A number of BJP leaders claim many candidates want Irani to campaign for them, especially because she makes connections with people by interacting with them directly.
“Smriti Irani-ji is receiving phenomenal feedback from the ground. Her fluent Bengali, the endearing way she speaks to people is definitely helping her connect with women voters. She has a motherly attitude and her inherent habit of accepting people by using the Bengali word ‘tui’ has been appreciated by a lot of people,” said a BJP worker on condition of anonymity.
“Not only this, she has a fantastic memory and makes it a point to remember karyakartas, this really motivates them too. I was told that many are skipping wedding invitations to attend her rallies,” added another leader.
Irani too posted about a similar incident on X. “Politics is about people, not just podiums. Met little Adrija and my sisters who skipped a wedding just to say “hello”. The love in Katulpur AC, West Bengal was overwhelming,” she wrote.
Irani had lost the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, in which the BJP retained power for a third term, albeit without a parliamentary majority. The actor-turned-politician made headlines for defeating Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from Amethi in 2019 and lost the seat by a margin of 1,67,196 votes to Congress leader K. L. Sharma in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The ‘outsider’ & Bengal
Speaking to ThePrint, Sayantan Ghosh, author of Battleground Bengal, said the “outsider” narrative is just that—a narrative, and that is not the main hurdle for the BJP in trying to oust the TMC.
“If we think about why people are voting, it’s not because they won’t vote for an “outsider” party. That’s not the case. Mamata is talking about Bengali sub-nationalism. There are leaders in the BJP who can speak Bangla, including Irani, but culturally, the BJP is seen as a North Indian political party with less connect to Bengal.”
He added: “If they come to power, they won’t understand Bengal’s culture. It’s not an outsider narrative but a cultural one. Irani is trying to break that taboo, but even other BJP leaders are walking with fish to break this narrative.
Whether this narrative will be established or not depends on communication, Ghosh said. “Anurag Thakur eating fish—this countering is happening this time, which wasn’t there last time. The more the focus of election speeches remains centered on Shah and Modi largely, this narrative cannot be broken, whether it is Irani or the fish campaign.”
The author went on to say that BJP leaders who are not in Bengal 24/7 have little impact on the ground. “With Irani also, she is connecting through language, but what the BJP needs is grassroots leadership from Bengal. Suvendu Adhikari can campaign in Uttar Pradesh, but will it be effective? Can they garner votes through that?”
Women & the ‘Bahu’
Through her role as Tulsi, Irani gained stardom from her Hindi TV series ‘Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’. She made a comeback to TV screens once again with season two of the same show which first aired on 29 July 2025.
The BJP, which had been making steady inroads in West Bengal over a period of time, had faced a setback in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as its tally came down to 12 seats from 18 in 2019. In 2021, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) secured 215 seats, while the BJP finished a distant second with 77 seats to become the official Opposition.
A clear wave of change is sweeping across Bengal. 🪷
The massive turnout at Chandrakona roadshow proves that TMC’s intimidation can no longer suppress the will of the people. Bengal has decided to break free from stagnation and syndicate raj. Bengal wants BJP for change! pic.twitter.com/QAUJNfTu5H
— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) April 10, 2026
“She has been camping in the state for quite some time to ensure she can reach out to the maximum number of people. Whether it is about addressing press conferences, raising issues related to women or targeting the Mamata Banerjee government, she’s emerged as the woman face of the party especially to counter the TMC’s women power,” said a BJP leader.
Another party leader pointed out that while women had played a crucial role in Mamata Banerjee’s victory, but the way their issues have been ignored especially related to safety and security many are upset. Irani, the leader said, has been highlighting these issues and she’s getting good response from the public.
The BJP has been focusing especially on issues of women safety, women reservation and welfare issues. In fact, Irani along with Ravi Shanker Prasad had addressed the press conference soon after the 131st Constitution Amendment Bill (2026) that proposed to enlarge Lok Sabha’s strength and conduct a delimitation exercise to implement women’s quota fell in the House recently. Irani had used the opportunity to lash out at the Opposition.
Appearing more aggressive in its campaigning this time, the BJP is hoping to unseat the TMC, which has been in power since 2011 after ending the Left Front’s 34-year rule in the state. From a vote share of around 4 per cent in the 2011 assembly elections, the BJP has come a long as it has made significant inroads in Bengal over the past decade—a point reiterated by its almost 38 per cent vote share in 2021.
The party has promised Rs 3,000 per month aid, free bus travel for women in state-run buses, Rs 21,000 and six nutritional kits for pregnant women from financially marginalised families. Not only this, with the party highlighting the issue of women’s safety, it has also promised 33 per cent reservation for women in police and West Bengal government jobs, as well as women-only police battalions and Durga Suraksha squad.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
