Rhetoric Without Roadmap: Modi's Bengal Visit Shows BJP is Keen on Recalibration

A huge number of voters in poll-bound West Bengal remain in limbo with their data issues unresolved, yet the Assembly elections are proceeding in two phases in April. That discomfort was unmistakably palpable at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s maiden election rally at the mythic Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata on 14 March, even as his speech itself was a disappointment. Not a single word for the crowds standing in queues for hours, waiting to resolve their Special Intensive Revision (SIR)-related issues. No assurance on the gas crisis that has restaurants fearing closure any day, and sweet shops warning they may run out of supplies for Poila Boishakh (Bengali New Year).All the PM offered was the usual catalogue of Central schemes allegedly sabotaged by the Trinamool Congress (TMC)—and the usual laundry list of the party's corruption.Incidentally, 14 March is also Nandigram Dibas, the day that marks a defining moment in Bengal's recent political history. The PM skipped its significance entirely. Unlike 2021, when he opened every speech with his “Didi, o Didi” refrain, he resisted uttering Mamata Banerjee’s or Abhishek Banerjee’s name.The silence raised an obvious question: is defeat so certain, then, for the saffron party in Bengal?Sandeshkhali Evokes Memories of Nandigram. Can Mamata Quell Women's Fury?The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) left nothing to chance in preparation for the PM's arrival. The 120×70-foot stage was deliberately modelled on Dakshineswar’s Bhabatarini Temple. Two clear signals emerged. First, the party now realises pure, Sanatani-vegetarian brand of Hindutva will not cut ice in pescatarian Bengal. State president Samik Bhattacharya had admitted days earlier: “Fish will stay on the Bengali plate. That is our culture.” The shift from “Jai Shri Ram” to “Jai Ma Kali” was complete.Second, they chose Dakshineswar—not Tarapith or Kalighat—because its founder, Rani Rashmoni, was a Shudra woman. The message: lower castes are being actively absorbed into the Hindutva fold.Brigade Parade Ground was similarly Bengali-ised—terracotta, Baul and Bishnupur motifs replacing standard Hindi-heartland aesthetics. Suvendu Adhikari, Samik Bhattacharya, and Sunil Bansal personally inspected the venue multiple times to ensure zero slip-ups.The rally followed nine “Parivartan Yatra” processions. At their launch, Amit Shah had promised seventh pay commission implementation for state employees within 45 days, permanent filling of all vacant government posts within six months, and five-year age relaxation in recruitment.Yet, the yatras drew thin crowds—even in BJP-ruled Cooch Behar. No processions were held in Kolkata or its suburbs, a quiet admission of organisational weakness. PM Modi appeared subdued, the strain visible. He began by listing Central schemes—Jal Jeevan Mission, Ayushman Bharat, PMAY, tea workers’ welfare, Vishwakarma, free electricity—accusing the TMC of blocking every one of them. “These people are enemies of Bengal and enemies of the people,” he said. He accused the TMC of renaming and manipulating beneficiary lists, and denying houses, jobs, and treatment to the poor. His main ammunition remained the TMC’s job scams and women’s safety. People have not forgotten the RG Kar scandal, he said, nor how the TMC openly shields criminals. Women are told to return home before evening, the BJP rule will change that, he claimed.Why RN Ravi's Appointment as West Bengal Governor Could be Bad News for MamataShatabdi Das, who has been part of the Abhaya Andolan from day one, responded sharply. “If the BJP does not shield rapists, why did Bilkis Bano’s justice take 20 years? BJP leaders marched with Kathua rapists under the national flag. They protected Brij Bhushan. The world watched in disgust when Australian women cricketers were harassed here, and a BJP MLA blamed them for going out alone," she told The Quint."The BJP is steeped in victim-blaming and rapist-appeasement. Mamata has no moral right to speak on this either. Both parties use women’s safety only as a vote-bank tool.”On infiltration, the PM moved cautiously. The TMC wants to legitimise illegal voters, and that SIR is essential for democracy, he said. In saying so, he effectively handed the Election Commission a clean chit—five days after “Go Back Gyanesh Kumar” slogans erupted in Kolkata.The SIR has already hit the Namashudra/Matua community hard: 42,000 Matua names deleted in Ranaghat North-East and South alone, 7.5 lakh people in North 24 Parganas under “no mapping”. Last December, PM Modi had sent a letter to the Matua community with reassurances when the name deletion emerged as a major crisis point. This time, he did not even utter the word 'Matua'. TMC MLA and Dalit writer Manoranjan Byapari told The Quint,"They used Matuas only for votes. But Matuas are 'lower-caste' people to them. According to their philosophy, they do not even consider lower castes as human. The soil and water sent from Thakurbari for the Ram Temple—they rejected it. Matuas are now feeling it in their bones.”The PM did reach out to tribals, linking the President’s insult to “dishonour of Adivasis and crores of women, and the dignity of the country’s highest office”. But he stayed completely silent on the nationwide harassment of Bengali migrant workers.He lamented that Bengal’s youth are forced to flee because of a “merciless government”, saying the state that once led the country now gives neither degrees nor jobs. Yet, he offered no plan for employment, no industry roadmap, and did not repeat even one of Amit Shah’s yatra promises.In 2011, the TMC used a slogan, 'Badla Noy, Badal Chai', meaning we want change, not revange. It worked for them well. But PM Modi in his speech stated the complete opposite, "All accounts will be settled."'Who Will Stop Us From Speaking Bengali?’: Mamata Declares 'Language War' on BJPHe also countered her alleged provocation to a community: “You cannot openly warn from a constitutional post that a particular community will be finished."The rally closed with the chant, “No one can save Trinamool.” But PM Modi gave no clear answers to the three questions weighing on every listener: under whose leadership, on what concrete plank, and through what actual plan will the BJP remove Mamata?(Arka Deb is an independent journalist covering news and politics in West Bengal.)

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Rhetoric Without Roadmap: Modi's Bengal Visit Shows BJP is Keen on Recalibration

PM Modi remained silent on the SIR issue, offering no acknowledgment to the waiting crowds, writes Arka Deb.

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Topics: Narendra Modi West Bengal BJP