PM Modi slams TMC over opposing SIR in West Bengal, says it backs illegal migrant vote bank

Modi laid the foundation stone for five sections of the 231 km-long four-lane Kharagpur-Moregram economic corridor.

With the Election Commission likely to announce the schedule of the assembly polls in West Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday accused the ruling Trinamool Congress in the state of opposing the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls only to protect its vote bank of illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

He alleged that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal also shielded criminals, including rapists and extortionists. He said that the days of the TMC’s hooliganism were over, and that the writing on the wall clearly said that the Bharatiya Janata Party would come to power after the assembly elections in the state. “When the BJP will come to power in West Bengal, it will ensure not only Sabka Saath and Sabka Vikas (solidarity with all and development of all), but also Sabka Hisab (accountability of all),” he said at a rally in Brigade Parade Ground. The saffron party’s state leaders claimed that it was a historic rally with nearly 8-10 lakh people coming to listen to Modi.

The prime minister earlier unveiled several connectivity projects for West Bengal, with an estimated cost of Rs 18680 crore.

He laid the foundation stone for five sections of the 231 km-long four-lane Kharagpur-Moregram economic corridor. He also flagged off the Purulia-Anand Vihar Terminal Express and unveiled six railway stations redeveloped under the Amrit Station scheme.

The Model Code of Conduct is likely to be imposed in West Bengal immediately after the announcement of the schedule of the polls in the state, along with Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry.

The BJP has made the illegal infiltration of migrants from across the India-Bangladesh border its main poll-plank in West Bengal.

“The TMC is opposed to the SIR of the electoral rolls as they want to save the infiltrators from being struck off from the electoral rolls of West Bengal. They are even opposing the removal of deceased people from the electoral rolls,” the prime minister said in the BJP rally on Saturday, adding that Mamata Banerjee’s government had turned a blind eye to the problem of illegal immigration for electoral gains, and it had now not only changed the demography in several areas of West Bengal, but also turned into a threat to national security. “When it comes to giving citizenship to persecuted Hindu refugees, the TMC opposes it because they do not consider them their vote bank,” Modi said, setting the tone for the BJP’s campaign for the assembly polls in the state.

The BJP supporters, who were going to the rally, clashed with the TMC workers at Girish Park in Kolkata. Shashi Panja, a senior TMC leader and a state minister, alleged that the BJP supporters had hurled bricks at her residence.

As many as 63.66 lakh voters – around 8.3 per cent of the electorate – have been struck off from the electoral rolls since the special revision of the lists was launched in November 2025, bringing down the size of the electorate from about 7.66 crore to over 7.04 crore. Besides, more than 60.06 lakh voters have been placed in the “under adjudication” category. Their eligibility to vote is now being determined through legal scrutiny by over 500 judicial officers, under the monitoring of the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court. Nearly 15 lakh cases have been adjudicated so far, leaving the fate of over 45 lakh “under adjudication” voters still undecided. Nearly 200 more judicial officers from Jharkhand and Odisha will be deployed across West Bengal soon to expedite the process.