West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026 | BJP wouldn't have got opening if Mamata hadn't polarised state, says Rahul Gandhi

'This is an election of ideologies. The first thing I want to tell you is that the BJP steals elections,' he said.

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday appealed to the people of West Bengal to vote for the Congress and said that if Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had run a clean government and not polarised the state, then the BJP would not have got an opening there.

In a video statement issued on the eve of the first phase of the West Bengal polls, Gandhi stressed that the Congress takes on the BJP which knows that only the Congress can stop it.

"This is an election of ideologies. The first thing I want to tell you is that the BJP steals elections.

"The BJP has stolen elections in Haryana, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. The SIR (Special Intensive Revision) is a means to steal elections," the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha said.

The ideologies of the BJP and the Congress are fighting it out in the country, he said.

"In our 4000-km-long Bharat Jodo Yatra, we had given just one message --'nafrat ke bazaar mein mohabbat ki dukaan kholni hai' (have to open shop to spread love in the market of hate)'," Gandhi said.

He further alleged that the BJP works against Bengali culture, history and language.

"BJP leaders say 'One Nation, One Language, One Religion'. In this country there are diverse languages, people, religions and ideologies. The Constitution states that India that is Bharat is a Union of states. We are protecting the Constitution and the BJP is attempting to finish off the Constitution," he alleged.

"If Mamata (Banerjee) ji had run a clean government, if (TMC's) Mamata ji had not polarised Bengal, then the BJP would not have gotten an opening," Gandhi said.

The Congress takes on the BJP which knows that only the Congress can stop it, he asserted.

Gandhi urged people to support and vote for the Congress and form its government in West Bengal.

Tagging his video statement, Gandhi said in a post on X, "Brothers and sisters of West Bengal, in this battle of ideologies, only the Congress can defeat the BJP. They snatch away rights; we restore them. They seek to dismantle the Constitution; we protect it. They wish to erase India's diversity; we, alongside Bengal, respect every culture and every language.

"Come, let us ensure a resounding victory for the Congress and establish a government of justice, dignity, and progress in Bengal," he said.

West Bengal is set to vote in the first phase on Thursday amid an increasingly polarised battle in which issues such as corruption and jobs have ceded space to identity, citizenship and the controversy over deleted names from electoral rolls.

The opening round of the two-phase election covers 152 of the state's 294 seats -- including all 54 in north Bengal's eight districts and several in Murshidabad, Nadia, Birbhum and Hooghly.

The Congress is fighting solo in West Bengal, taking on the ruling TMC as well as the BJP.

The second phase of elections would take place on April 29 and counting of votes would be held on May 4.