Senior leader of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) and its national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Sunday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of spreading propaganda against West Bengal and trying to divide society along caste lines, asserting that voters in the state would democratically defeat the party in the next elections.
In a message shared on his WhatsApp channel after addressing a public meeting in the Sundarban organisational district, Banerjee said the large turnout and enthusiasm among attendees reinforced his confidence that people would reject what he described as the BJP’s “authoritarian” politics.
Quoting a well-known Bengali line highlighting gender equality, Banerjee wrote: “That day is not far — the day when the earth will sing not only of the victory of men, but of women as well.”
He alleged that the BJP was attempting to malign Bengal by spreading misinformation and promoting divisive politics. “The anti-Bengal, anti-democratic BJP is spreading propaganda and slander in Bengal in an attempt to tarnish the image of the state,” he said, adding that “by planting the poisonous tree of caste discrimination, the landlords of Delhi are trying to practice divisive politics.”
Referring to the gathering in the Sundarban organisational district, Banerjee said the response from the public reflected growing opposition to the BJP in the state. “The enthusiasm, excitement and spontaneous participation of people that I witnessed today gives me firm belief that in the coming elections the common people will democratically uproot the authoritarian BJP from Bengal,” he said.
Banerjee also criticised the Election Commission of India over what he described as an “unplanned” Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, claiming it was being conducted under pressure from the central government. “At the behest of the landlords of Delhi, the Election Commission is hastily conducting an unplanned ‘SIR’ in an attempt to snatch away the voting rights of the people of Bengal,” he said.
Stressing Bengal’s political and cultural character, Banerjee said the BJP did not understand the state’s history of resistance and social harmony. “This soil of Bengal is the soil of struggle. In Bengal, where all religions coexist in harmony, there is no place for a divisive and authoritarian party,” he said.
He also reiterated that the Trinamool Congress would continue to safeguard citizens’ voting rights. “The Trinamool Congress is firmly committed to protecting the voting rights of legitimate citizens,” Banerjee said, adding that people of the state were prepared to respond to what he called the BJP’s “oppression, deprivation and step motherly treatment” towards Bengal and its people.
Banerjee concluded his message with the party’s slogans: “Joy Bangla! Joy Trinamool!”
The remarks came amid ongoing political rivalry between the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and the BJP, which has been the principal opposition in the state since the 2021 assembly elections. Leaders from both parties have frequently traded allegations over governance, electoral processes and the role of institutions ahead of future polls.