The political atmosphere in West Bengal is marked by a curious mix of silence and simmering discontent. In this detailed conversation with Organiser Senior Assistant Editor, Nishant Kumar Azad, Rajya Sabha MP and President of West Bengal BJP, Samik Bhattacharya presents a sharp critique of the ruling Trinamool Congress, framing the election as nothing short of a “struggle for existence” for the state. Excerpts:
During the 2021 elections, people seemed very vocal. But this time, there is a strange silence, a fear among the voters. How do you see this?
There is no fear, but resentment is visible in some places. People have already made up their minds that, under any circumstances, they are not going to vote for TMC in West Bengal. Bengal is moving towards destruction, our demography is gradually changing.
This time, it is a struggle for existence, a struggle for survival. People want to see West Bengal as West Bengal, not West Bangladesh.
If we talk about financial issues, whether traders or poor labourers, there seems to be resentment. The entire society has become an open market. We have rivers, sea coast, port, merit, skilled labour, manpower, and geographical advantage. We are the gateway of Eastern India. In spite of that, investments are not coming because West Bengal is no longer investment-friendly.
Singur and Nandigram – both cases have sent a wrong message to investors, not only in India but abroad as well. Singur could have been an international auto hub. But TMC policies are anti-farmer, anti-labour, anti-unorganised sector, and anti-industrial sector.
You are claiming TMC policies are anti-Industrial while its leader Mahua Moitra recently made a statement that Bengal was never an industrial hub and can never be one.
Nobody takes TMC seriously now. Industry was born in West Bengal. Why did people from all over India come here earlier? In Bihar, if a child wore new clothes on Diwali, friends would ask – your father must be working in West Bengal. People came from Bihar, UP, and Odisha. Now what is happening? It has become a state of migrant labourers only.
Now there is an exodus – exodus of capital, money, students, merit. Go to Bengaluru, where the second most spoken language there is Bengali. I am giving you data from three years ago – 14,62,000 qualified boys and girls are working there. This is a big number.
TMC has jeopardised the entire system. Everybody is waiting for a change.
Lakshmir Bhandar is a major issue in this election. BJP has brought the Annapurna scheme to counter it. What response are you getting?
We are not here to counter anything. From the beginning, we said – helping marginalised people, women, the weak sections is the duty of any state. If you are giving Rs 1000, increase it. But they cannot increase it.
For Lakshmi to come, there must be peace in the state. There is a total absence of law and order. The Constitution does not exist in West Bengal. All constitutional authorities are being challenged
by TMC. Mamata Banerjee is not in a position to provide more money.
“BJP means development. Today’s politics is development. BJP’s politics is decisive; TMC’s politics is divisive”
So we said, let ‘Annapurna come’. And we are getting a very good response. People are happy, especially women. But it doesn’t mean that after giving money, you will get votes from all sides. If Lakshmir Bhandar had that effect, the BJP would not have won more than 11,000 seats in the Panchayat elections despite violence.
What is the BJP’s plan for Bengal’s development if it comes to power?
BJP means development. Today’s religion is democracy, and today’s politics is development. BJP’s politics is decisive; TMC’s politics is divisive. They are dividing society in the name of religion.
Border districts’ demographic balance has been disturbed. Not just West Bengal – through Bengal, even Bihar and Jharkhand are being affected. Love jihad has now turned into land jihad. Internal security is being compromised because of this Bangladesh infiltration.
There was a time when the Muslim League slogan was “minority has a right to self-determination, and we want the right of self-determination,” and for that, Pakistan was created by dividing India. Those who left this country, calling it impure, why will those same people come back, and why will their names be on the voter list? Rohingyas are only welcome guests in this state.
No central government project is being implemented in West Bengal. 43 railway projects are stalled because of land acquisition problems. If a government does not have a comprehensive land policy, then how will investment come or development happen?
If we look at Mamata Banerjee’s tenure, there have been many scams and allegations of corruption. Things like RG Kar have also happened. Don’t you think that under the cover of SIR, these issues have been suppressed?
People of West Bengal are very conscious in terms of political thinking. Corruption and Trinamool Congress are synonymous.
Mamata is trying to hide all her black deeds in the name of SIR. Go to any village – look at the size of the sarpanch’s house, and then look at the condition of the poor people. Money from Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana is not coming. NREGA funding is not happening.
The central government clearly said – you take the money but give accounts. They are saying – we will take the money, but giving accounts is not our responsibility.
It is not possible that we keep giving funds and they just distribute them arbitrarily. From here, we have to return to a system of accountability.
We have collected people’s grievances across West Bengal through drop boxes, WhatsApp, and all available social media platforms. We compiled that and prepared a chargesheet, and along with that, a manifesto.
In most parts of India, elections are peaceful and free and fair, but in Bengal, this does not seem to happen. Recently, many TMC leaders have been seen threatening voters. There are cases where leaders get arrested and then get bail. In such a situation, how will free and fair elections be ensured?
It is the responsibility of the Election Commission to ensure that. The Supreme Court has also intervened in this election.
After the election results came out in 2021, within 27 days, 56 BJP workers were killed by the Trinamool Congress. And 27 BJP women workers came in front of the camera and said that they were gang-raped by Trinamool Congress. The situation in this state is different from other states. But even after so many workers being killed, even after such attacks, our workers are still standing. Booth-level workers are alive, they are determined, they have taken a stand.
