Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday alleged that women suffered the most during the 15-year Trinamool Congress (TMC) rule as he campaigned a day before the last day of electioneering ahead of the second and last phase of the West Bengal assembly election on April 29.
“I can see the maximum enthusiasm among the women present here because they suffered the most during the 15-year TMC rule. The record turnout in the first-phase polling has crushed the TMC’s pride. The second phase will ensure a BJP government. Bengal needs a vote from each of you,” Modi said at North 24 Parganas district’s Thakurnagar.
Women have been the mainstay of chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s support base due to her popular social welfare schemes, especially Lakshmir Bhandar, which offers monthly assistance of ₹1,500 (general category) and ₹1700 (Scheduled Castes and Tribes).
Modi promised free rice, which he said would help women save ₹7,000-10,000 a year if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is voted to power. “The TMC gives arsenic-laced water. The BJP will provide clean potable water and ₹80,000 for solar power plants at homes. Banks will give each sister a ₹20,000 Mudra loan to set up a business. Modi will stand as guarantor for the loan,” said Modi.
He listed the promises made for women voters in the BJP’s election manifesto. “The Bengal BJP has announced an annual assistance of ₹36,000 for all women and 33% reservation in government jobs,” he said, four days before 142 of 294 assembly seats will go to the polls across seven districts, including Kolkata, the TMC’s stronghold since it came to power in 2011.
The seven South Bengal districts have an average Muslim population of around 25. The BJP failed to win any seat in four districts of the seven districts—South 24 Parganas (31 seats), Kolkata (11 seats), East Burdwan (16 seats), and Howrah (18 seats)—in the 2021 polls
On April 23, polling was held for 152 seats across 16 districts, recording a 92.35% voter turnout. The BJP won 59 of these seats in 2021. The BJP has said it would win 110 of these seats in 2026. The TMC claimed it would win at least 100 of the 152 seats.
On Sunday, Modi also addressed the Dalit Matua community for the first time this election, after many of them were removed as voters as part of the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll.
The Matuas, a part of the large Dalit Namasudra community, came as refugees from East Pakistan after the 1947 partition and after Bangladesh’s the creation in 1971. They have a strong presence in North 24 Parganas district, Bengal’s largest (33 seats), and Nadia (17 seats).
The Matuas are believed to have supported the BJP in Lok Sabha and assembly polls since 2019, as they were assured citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). Many are yet to get citizenship despite filling out forms online.
Modi said Jan Sangh founder Shyama Prasad Mookerjee was the spokesperson of all these refugees. “The BJP carries that heritage, and that is why CAA was introduced. Matua Namasudras and all other refugees will get citizenship, a permanent address, and all documents that other citizens get. This is Modi’s guarantee. Those who think of voting for TMC will hurt the spirit of their forefathers,” he said.
“I am taking an oath that all infiltrators living here with fake documents provided by TMC will be driven out if they do not leave before the poll results are declared on May 4,” Modi said, before addressing another rally at Haripal in Hooghly district.
TMC Rajya Sabha member Mamata Bala Thakur, who heads a faction of the Matua Mahasangha, said the BJP has repeatedly made false promises to them. “It claimed that the SIR exercise would identify Muslim infiltrators, but the number of delisted Matuas in several districts is around 30,000.”
In Nadia district bordering Bangladesh, Union home minister Amit Shah said the TMC “served biryani” to infiltrators all these years, while Modi has been giving a befitting reply to terror attacks. “After May 5, every infiltrator will be identified and pushed back,” he said.
The TMC has repeatedly countered Shah’s allegations of alleged infiltration, stating that the central forces are responsible for guarding the borders.
In Tehatta, Shah assured garlic growers that they would get a fair price if the BJP came to power. “Garlic sells for ₹200 a kilo around the nation, but here they sell for ₹12 because Chinese garlic has been pushed into the market. The BJP will stop such imports,” he said.
