‘Give BJP a chance’: Amit Shah, Mamata Banerjee trade barbs in Bengal ahead of 2026 polls

The political temperature in West Bengal rose sharply on Tuesday as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Union home minister Amit Shah traded barbs, setting the tone for an intensifying battle ahead of next year’s assembly elections.

Shah, who is on a three-day visit to the state to kickstart the BJP’s poll campaign, accused Banerjee of presiding over an atmosphere of “fear, corruption and misgovernance”, while alleging that her government was facilitating the infiltration of Bangladeshis, a process he claimed had “dangerously altered” West Bengal’s demography over the past few years.

“Due to corruption under the Mamata Banerjee-led government in the state, development in West Bengal has stopped. All beneficial schemes started by Modi ji have become victims of the toll syndicate here. Fear and corruption have become West Bengal's identity for the last 14 years,” Shah said.

“After April 15 2026, when the BJP government is formed in West Bengal, we will start the revival of Bengal's heritage and culture,” he added.

Hitting back, Banerjee accused the BJP of turning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise into a scam. “SIR being conducted using AI, it's a huge scam. Only you (Amit Shah) and your son will survive,” she said, reiterating her claim that several people, including booth-level officers (BLOs), have died by suicide during the exercise.

Union home minister Amit Shah sharpened his attack on the Trinamool Congress government, accusing it of obstructing border fencing along the India-Bangladesh frontier and enabling illegal infiltration.

“I have written 7 letters to Mamata Banerjee on the issue of fencing (along India-Bangladesh border). In the last 6 years, the Home Secretary has visited West Bengal thrice and held meetings with the State Chief Secretary. I want to ask the TMC government what fear does it have in giving land (for fencing along the India-Bangladesh border), and don't they have any responsibility, or do you want infiltration to continue?...Bengal govt is making documents for these infiltrators. TMC cannot stop infiltration and Bengal's demography is dangerously changing,” Shah said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hit back, invoking figures from the epic Mahabharat to mount a sharp counterattack on the BJP leadership. She likened BJP leaders to Duryodhana and Dushasana, rejecting Shah’s allegations on border fencing and governance.

Banerjee pointed to her government’s role in facilitating border infrastructure, asserting that the Trinamool Congress administration had provided land for fencing projects in Petrapol and Andal.

Addressing a public meeting, the chief minister said, “Remember the situation 14 years ago, people were scared. A lot of development work was done for Bankura, and much was done to overcome the water crisis. The elections have arrived, and people are being harassed in the name of SIR.

“Dushasana, a disciple of Shakuni, has come to Bengal to gather information. As soon as the elections come, Dushasana and Duryodhana start appearing. Today, they (the BJP) are saying that Mamata Banerjee didn't give land. Who gave the land in Petrapole and Andal?," she said.

“They say that infiltrators only enter from Bengal. If that's the case, did you carry out the attack in Pahalgam? Who was behind the incident that happened in Delhi?”.

Shah, meanwhile, escalated his attack by alleging that the Trinamool Congress had taken the politics of fear and violence to levels worse than those seen under the Left.

"It was believed that the politics of violence and revenge would end once the Communists were defeated, but they have surpassed even the Communists. So far, more than 300 BJP workers have been killed. Over 3,000 BJP workers have still not been able to return to their homes. They are being pressured that they will be allowed there only if they carry the TMC flag," he alleged.

“People of Bengal have given Congress, Left, TMC opportunities to govern, I appeal to give BJP a chance," Shah said, adding that the people have resolved to replace fear, corruption and misgovernance with good governance.

Senior Trinamool Congress leader and state education minister Bratya Basu dismissed Amit Shah’s remarks as baseless, asserting that the BJP would fail to make any electoral impact in the state.

“Shah will keep coming and going like a tourist. Such visits will serve no purpose,” Basu said on the sidelines of a programme.

He further claimed that “the BJP will not even cross the 50-mark in the assembly polls and suffer a humiliating defeat.”