West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday mocked Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s announcement that he would camp in the state for 15 days, declaring that even 365 days would not help the BJP because “people of Bengal do not like you”.
Addressing a poll rally at Gazole in Malda district, Banerjee also turned her guns on AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi without naming him, accusing the “Hyderabad cuckoo of the BJP” of engineering the protests in Malda in which seven judicial officers engaged in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise were confined for hours inside a block office.
Her remarks came a day after Shah, during BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari’s nomination filing programme from Bhabanipur, announced that he would stay in West Bengal for 15 days during the election campaign, underscoring the importance the BJP central leadership has attached to the battle for Bengal.
“Bengal is not Delhi where everything can be managed through agencies and money power. You are saying you will stay here for 15 days. Even if you stay for 365 days, nothing will happen. People here do not like you,” Banerjee said, taking a swipe at Shah.
With Malda turning into the epicentre of the row after Wednesday night’s blockade of judicial officers in Kaliachak-II block, Banerjee attempted a delicate balancing act -- condemning the incident but simultaneously blaming “outsiders” and opposition parties for stoking the unrest.
“One incident in Malda has tarnished Bengal’s honour. The local people are not responsible for it. They may have grievances. But the people who trapped the judges were outsiders. A cuckoo of the BJP has come from Hyderabad along with some communal people. They are behind all this. We have caught them red-handed. CID picked them up from the airport,” she said.
Without directly naming Owaisi or his AIMIM, Banerjee alleged that the Hyderabad-based party was trying to cut into minority votes in Bengal and divide the anti-BJP electorate.
“A game of vote-cutting is on. Brothers are coming from Hyderabad, along with traitor brothers. If you do not want detention camps, stay with us. My mind says the BJP will soon be defeated. But for that, Bengal must ensure our victory,” she said.
Banerjee said, “The cuckoo is born in the crow’s nest. Offer them mangoes if you want, but do not give them your votes.”
The remarks were aimed at reinforcing the TMC’s familiar argument that the AIMIM’s entry into Bengal politics would only benefit the BJP by splitting minority votes in districts such as Malda, Murshidabad and North Dinajpur.
Banerjee also sought to turn the BJP’s attack on “infiltrators” on its head.
Referring to the BJP’s repeated charge that illegal immigrants had found their way into Bengal’s electoral rolls, she said the saffron party itself had benefited from those very lists.
“In Malda district, there are two Lok Sabha seats. In 2024, one was won by the Congress and one by the BJP. If there were infiltrators in the 2024 voter list, then you (Prime Minister) too have won with their votes. First resign, then speak,” she said, talking about Narendra Modi.
The chief minister also accused the BJP of running a campaign of intimidation through central agencies and phone calls.
Taking another veiled dig at Shah, Banerjee alleged that Bengalis were being attacked outside the state.
“Bengalis are being beaten for speaking Bengali in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Assam and Manipur. First handle Manipur. You (Shah) have agencies with you, so you are enjoying yourself. Your only work is to call people and threaten them. They once called me too. I gave it back properly. If you want to fight, fight face to face,” she said.
She urged Bengali migrant workers not to leave the state for jobs, saying Bengal would stand by them.
The TMC supremo, who has been repeatedly accusing the BJP of using the SIR exercise to selectively remove names of Bengali-speaking and minority voters, also warned people against fraudsters approaching them in the name of the state government.
“If anyone comes claiming to be from the state government and asks for your account number, do not give it. They will take everything away. The BJP is doing this in disguise. Do not make this mistake during elections,” she said.
In a message to party councillors and local leaders amid murmurs of discontent within the TMC organisation in several districts, Banerjee reminded them that the party’s fortunes and the government’s future were inseparable.
She also attempted to rally the party’s grassroots machinery, describing ordinary workers as the TMC’s “real assets”.
The political temperature rose further after seven judicial officers were gheraoed.
While Banerjee condemned the confinement of the judges, she sought to shift the blame towards the Congress and “outsiders”, arguing that the police and administration were currently functioning under the Election Commission during the poll period.
The episode has added another combustible layer to an already volatile Bengal election, where the fight is no longer confined to rallies and slogans, but has spilled over into the voter list, the courtroom and the administrative machinery.
The elections to the 294-member West Bengal assembly will be held in two phases - on April 23 and 29. Votes will be counted on May 4.