Kolkata, April 5: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday made the Malda gherao of judicial officers the fulcrum of the BJP’s campaign on lawlessness in West Bengal, accusing the TMC government of running a “maha jungleraj” and pitching the 2026 assembly polls as a straight contest between the “bhay” spread by the ruling party and the BJP’s “bharosa”.
Addressing his first election rally in Cooch Behar in north Bengal after the poll schedule was announced, Modi used the Malda incident to sharpen the BJP’s twin campaign planks of “poor law and order” and alleged demographic change, besides the issues of safety of women and infiltration from Bangladesh to attack the TMC.
“Just a few days ago, the entire nation witnessed judicial officers being held hostage in Malda. What kind of government is this, where judges and constitutional procedures are not safe? We cannot expect such a government to keep the people of Bengal safe,” Modi said.
The Prime Minister was referring to Wednesday night’s incident in Malda’s Kaliachak-II block office, where seven judicial officers, including three women, were gheraoed for several hours by a mob during hearings on names marked “under adjudication” in the draft electoral rolls prepared during the Special Intensive Revision exercise.
“What happened in Malda is an example of TMC’s maha jungleraj,” he said, alleging that the ruling party was “bent on carrying out the funeral procession of law and order” in the state.
Modi also sought to frame the contest in binary terms.
“On one side, there is the ‘bhay’ (fear) of the TMC, and on the other side, you have the BJP’s ‘bharosa’ (trust). On one side is the fear of TMC’s cut money and corruption, and on the other side is the BJP which accelerates development,” he said.
The PM also contrasted the fear of infiltration and settling foreigners in Bengal with the BJP’s confidence in stopping infiltration and driving infiltrators out.
The speech reflected the BJP’s attempt to stitch together multiple political flashpoints into a single narrative before polling.
Malda was used to underline the opposition party’s charge of collapsing governance, Sandeshkhali to evoke anger over crimes against women, and the debate over electoral rolls and the Citizenship Amendment Act to consolidate Hindu refugee and Matua votes in the border districts.
The prime minister said those trying to change Bengal’s identity would be ousted this time. (PTI)
