Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday sharpened the BJP’s pitch for regime change in West Bengal, claiming that the first phase of polling has sealed a “wave of change” in the state and signalled the beginning of the end of the TMC’s “maha jungle raj”.
Addressing a poll rally at Panihati under the Dum Dum Lok Sabha constituency in North 24 Parganas district, Modi framed the high voter turnout as an endorsement of the BJP’s campaign for change and a rejection of what he described as the TMC’s “dictatorship”.
Nearly 93 per cent of the 3.60 crore electors voted in the first phase of the West Bengal assembly polls on Thursday.
“The wave of change that had been visible in Bengal for a long time – yesterday’s first phase of voting has put its seal on it. The support shown yesterday in favour of the BJP has sounded the conch shell of its victory,” he said.
In a speech loaded with symbolism around democracy, freedom and political transition, Modi accused the ruling party of having “crushed the temple of democracy” in Bengal and said voters had begun rebuilding it through the ballots.
“In Bengal, where the TMC had crushed the temple of democracy through its dictatorship, the people have reconstructed it in the first phase of polling. Now, in the second phase, you have to unfurl the victory flag over this temple of democracy,” he said.
Claiming that the TMC was “rattled” by Thursday’s voter turnout, Modi alleged that the ruling party had activated its “goons” overnight to intimidate voters and BJP workers.
The Prime Minister escalated the attack further, asserting that the first phase voter turnout has already indicated the fall of the ruling dispensation.
“Yesterday’s first phase of voting has ensured the end of TMC’s reign of ‘jungle raj’. On May 4, after the results are declared, TMC goons will have no place to hide. No one will be able to protect them. Bengal is saying – ‘paltano dorkar, chai BJP sarkar’ (change is needed, want BJP government),” he said.
Seeking to cast the election as a larger ideological battle, Modi invoked Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and said Bengal needed a “new revolution”, this time through the vote.
“This is the land of revolution, this is the land of the brave. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had called upon the nation to break the chains of slavery – give me blood and I will give you freedom. This is the time for a new revolution in Bengal. This revolution will happen with your one vote,” Modi said.
He said the BJP promised to free Bengal from “years of hardship”, listing what he called “freedom from fear, corruption, syndicate rule, atrocities on women, unemployment, forced migration” and “occupation by infiltrators”.
“To restore Bengal’s pride once again, to make Bengal the land of opportunities again, this freedom is absolutely essential,” he said.
Turning to women-centric messaging, Modi described the TMC as an “anti-women party”.
He said the BJP believed in a “women-led development model”, seeking to turn women’s safety and their empowerment into a central electoral issue.
Referring to women candidates fielded by the BJP, including the mother of the RG Kar hospital rape-murder victim and a survivor from Sandeshkhali, Modi said the party had given representation to those who had faced injustice.
“A mother helped her daughter become a doctor. That daughter was taken away from her by the TMC. We have made that mother a candidate,” he said, while referring to the BJP’s Panihati nominee Ratna Debnath, the mother of the RG Kar hospital rape-murder victim.
Debnath and several other BJP candidates of nearby assembly constituencies shared the dias with Modi.
The BJP has also given an “opportunity to the victim of Sandeshkhali to lead”, he said.
“When the women of Bengal ask for justice, the TMC tells them not to step out of their homes,” he alleged.
Promising legal and political accountability if the BJP comes to power, Modi said files relating to atrocities against women would be reopened.
“After the BJP government is formed on May 4, the files on every injustice, every atrocity, will be opened. This is Modi’s guarantee,” he said.
“I want to assure the sisters of Bengal that for this brother of yours, women’s security will be supreme,” he added, saying Bengal’s women’s power would write the state’s “new saga”.
The Prime Minister also reached out to the middle class, highlighting the Centre’s tax relief measures and promising relaxations under a BJP government in the state, while accusing the TMC of destroying Bengal’s industrial legacy.
Before 2014, when the UPA government supported by the TMC was in power at the Centre, income above Rs 2 lakh was taxed, whereas now annual income up to Rs 12 lakh has been made tax-free.
He also invoked Syama Prasad Mukherjee, saying the BJP’s ideological roots lay in Bengal and that the party remained inspired by his vision.
“We take pride in Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, inspired by whom the Jan Sangh was born, and over time, the BJP was established,” he said.
Attacking the TMC over Bengal’s industrial decline, Modi said the ruling party had “ruined” the state’s economy in its 15-year rule.
“People once came to Kolkata for employment. Today, migration of youth has become the biggest challenge here,” he said, alleging that industries, MSMEs and old industrial hubs such as Dum Dum had been weakened by “syndicate raj” and broken promises.
“TMC’s empty promises and syndicate rule have devastated Kolkata and all cities of Bengal, industries and MSMEs,” he alleged.
Modi also accused the TMC of neglecting the urban areas.
“TMC has neglected the urban areas of West Bengal because of their culture of loot and misgovernance. BJP will focus on urban development and ensure people’s dreams are fulfilled,” he said on X.
