With the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections approaching, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has reignited its powerful ‘Bengali vs Bahari’ (insider vs outsider) political narrative, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of orchestrating a systematic cultural and political assault on the Bengali identity. This strategy, reminiscent of TMC's successful 2021 campaign, is now being prominently positioned ahead of the party’s flagship July 21 Martyrs’ Day Rally.

TMC, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, is alleging that the BJP is engaged in a “cultural purge” in Bengal, deploying tools such as NRC harassment, voter roll manipulation, and deportation of Bengali-speaking workers from other BJP-ruled states.

This revival of identity-based politics is not just a rhetorical flourish but a calculated electoral strategy aimed at consolidating regional pride and resentment against central overreach. Political analysts assert that such messaging had played a crucial role in delivering a landslide victory for the TMC in the 2021 elections, where the BJP had made unprecedented inroads but ultimately failed to clinch power.

The Core Allegations: A ‘Three-Pronged Assault’ on Bengalis

According to the TMC’s aggressively promoted campaign material circulating on social media and being amplified on the ground, the BJP’s alleged cultural assault on Bengalis is manifesting in three major forms:

1. NRC Harassment:
   TMC claims that legitimate Indian citizens in West Bengal are receiving NRC (National Register of Citizens) notices designed to intimidate and harass them. The party alleges that the exercise is being selectively weaponised to discredit and destabilise Bengali-speaking populations.

2. Voter Deletion Ahead of 2026 Elections:
   A Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls has reportedly been initiated, which the TMC alleges is being done under pressure from the BJP with the intention of deleting lakhs of Bengali voters, especially those working in other states.

3. Deportation of Migrant Workers:
   The TMC has also highlighted incidents of forced deportation of Bengali-speaking workers from Maharashtra, Delhi, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh. These individuals, often falsely labelled as illegal immigrants, are allegedly being removed with the active cooperation of the Border Security Force (BSF) and local police.

Mamata Banerjee’s Defiant Stand

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, never one to shy away from confrontation with the Centre, has added fuel to the political fire with her rhetorical question:

“Is speaking Bengali now a crime in India?”

This provocative statement is being seen as the crystallisation of TMC's accusation that the BJP’s governance model and ideological stance are inherently hostile to regional and linguistic diversity.

She is expected to amplify these concerns at the upcoming July 21 Martyrs’ Day Rally, a politically significant annual event that sets the tone for TMC's agenda. The rally is likely to serve as a launchpad for the party’s 2026 campaign, with Mamata spearheading the battle against what she calls “the cultural domination of outsiders.”

The BJP’s Counterattack: Legacy and Nationalism

In response, the BJP has rejected the allegations as politically motivated and baseless.

BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul, addressing the media, said:

“How can they accuse us of being anti-Bengali? The founder of our party, Syama Prasad Mukherjee, was a proud Bengali nationalist. We don’t need lessons in Bengali identity from TMC.”

Moreover, the BJP’s appointment of Samik Bhattacharya, a Bengali intellectual and former academic, as state party president, is seen as a deliberate counter to the outsider tag often hurled at its central leadership by the TMC.

The party argues that TMC is trying to deflect attention from governance failures and rising public dissatisfaction over corruption scandals and alleged political violence by raking up divisive identity issues.

Economic Grievances and Centre-State Tensions

Alongside cultural concerns, the TMC is also raising strong economic grievances. The party alleges that the Centre is deliberately withholding MGNREGA funds and other central allocations to West Bengal, exacerbating unemployment and poverty in rural areas. The state government claims that this withholding of funds is part of a larger political vendetta being played out under the guise of administrative formalities.

The TMC has used this issue to frame the BJP’s approach as discriminatory and anti-federal, with slogans like “Delhi doesn’t want Bengal to rise.”

Legal Actions and Public Sentiment

TMC MP Samirul Islam, a vocal advocate for migrant workers, revealed that the party has taken legal steps and petitioned the Union Home Ministry regarding the wrongful deportation of Bengali-speaking Indian citizens from several BJP-ruled states. He cited the example of individuals allegedly deported from Mumbai and Delhi to Bangladesh without due process, describing the events as deliberate “targeted harassment”.

“This is a threat to our mother tongue and cultural identity. We are being told to prove we are Indians just because we speak Bengali,” Islam said.

Such statements are being used to solidify the perception of Bengali marginalisation and unite voters around a shared sense of cultural persecution.

Electoral Implications and Strategic Calculations

Political observers believe that this renewed focus on Bengali identity is a tactical masterstroke by Mamata Banerjee, especially at a time when the BJP is struggling to replicate its 2019 Lok Sabha gains in Bengal. The emotive resonance of identity politics in Bengal, where language, literature, and history hold deep significance, could be a gamechanger in the 2026 polls.

The TMC is positioning itself as the guardian of Bengali asmita (pride), hoping to recreate the anti-Centre sentiment that helped sweep them to power previously.

Conclusion: Identity vs Nationalism, Again

The Bengali vs Bahari debate is not just a campaign narrative but a reflection of deep-rooted political and cultural fissures that define the Centre-state dynamic in West Bengal. With TMC intensifying its cultural resistance and BJP asserting pan-Indian nationalism, the 2026 elections are shaping up to be another high-stakes ideological battleground.

The July 21 Martyrs’ Day Rally will serve as a defining moment in this battle, potentially setting the tone for the final leg of Mamata Banerjee’s campaign to retain power in one of India's most politically charged states. The question of identity, language, and belonging is now front and centre — and Bengal is watching.

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