'Shortcut to change lies through Bhabanipur': Amit Shah’s challenge to CM Mamata in her bastion

Amit Shah said a victory for Suvendu Adhikari in Bhabanipur alone would automatically bring change to the state's politics.

Kolkata: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday turned BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari's nomination filing from Bhabanipur into a high-voltage political spectacle, claiming he had a "shortcut" to bring about "paribartan" (change) in West Bengal: defeating Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in her own constituency.

Shah said while the BJP would otherwise have to win 170 seats to form the government with a comfortable majority, a victory for Adhikari in Bhabanipur alone would automatically bring change to the state's politics.

Addressing a rally ahead of a massive roadshow from Hazra Crossing in south Kolkata before accompanying Adhikari for his nomination filing, Shah framed the Bhabanipur contest not merely as another assembly seat battle but as the symbolic centrepiece of the BJP's campaign to unseat the Trinamool Congress government in the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections.

"Change will happen in West Bengal. But should there be a change in Bhabanipur or not?" Shah asked the crowd.

"With folded hands, I appeal to the people of Bhabanipur that, for the liberation of the entire state, ensure a massive victory for our candidate Suvendu Adhikari," he said.

Shah said he had personally persuaded Adhikari to contest from Bhabanipur, the chief minister's pocket borough, instead of limiting himself to his traditional bastion of Nandigram.

"Suvendu-da wanted to contest from Nandigram. I told him, not just Nandigram. You have to enter Mamata Banerjee's home and defeat her there," Shah said.

He reminded the audience that Banerjee, despite returning to power in 2021, had lost in Nandigram to Adhikari, who defected to the BJP in December 2020 after being one of her closest aides.

"She formed the government in Bengal, but she lost in Nandigram to Suvendu Adhikari. This time she will lose not only in the entire state, but in Bhabanipur too," Shah asserted.

Bhabanipur has been Banerjee's political citadel for over a decade. She first contested from the seat in 2011 and became the chief minister, defeating the Left Front.

After losing Nandigram in 2021, she returned to the assembly through a bypoll from Bhabanipur, winning comfortably and re-establishing the constituency as her safest political turf.

By fielding Adhikari against Banerjee in Bhabanipur, the BJP is seeking to recreate the drama of Nandigram in the heart of Kolkata and turn the contest into a direct prestige battle between Bengal's two most recognisable political faces.

The symbolism was underlined as Shah and Adhikari stood together atop a campaign vehicle during the roadshow from Hazra crossing, with saffron flags lining the route and supporters chanting slogans calling for "paribartan" in Bengal.

Shah repeatedly portrayed Bhabanipur as the gateway to a change of regime in the state.

"We will win seat after seat and reach 170. Only then will there be change," he said, referring to the BJP's target in the 294-member assembly.

"But I have a shortcut. If the people of Bhabanipur make us win this one seat, change will happen automatically," he added, triggering loud cheers from the crowd.

The "shortcut" remark suggests that a defeat for Banerjee in her own constituency would deal a psychological blow to the TMC far beyond the arithmetic of one seat.

Shah also sought to sharpen the BJP's core poll plank of illegal immigration and border security, issues the party believes resonate strongly across Bengal.

"West Bengal needs change. Under (Narendra) Modi ji's leadership, a BJP government has to be formed here. Bengal's borders must be sealed and infiltrators selectively driven out of the state and the country," he said.

"Infiltration has increased to such an extent that Bengal's existence is at stake," he said.

The remarks come at a time when the BJP has been trying to foreground the issue of alleged infiltration from Bangladesh and demographic changes in border districts as one of its principal election narratives.

The Union home minister also announced that he would stay in West Bengal for 15 days during the election campaign, signalling the importance the BJP central leadership is attaching to the state.

"I will remain in West Bengal for 15 days during the election. There will be many opportunities to speak with you. Today I have come for the nomination of our candidates, especially Suvendu Adhikari," Shah said.

Before Shah spoke, Adhikari addressed supporters at Hazra Crossing and attacked the TMC government over corruption, law and order and alleged appeasement politics.

The BJP leader, who has emerged as Banerjee's fiercest political rival since crossing over from the TMC in late 2020, said the election was no longer merely about changing a government but about "freeing Bengal".

The roadshow began from Hazra crossing amid heavy security and moved through the heart of Bhabanipur before Adhikari proceeded to file his nomination papers.