From Subtle To Brazen — How Bengal BJP 2.0 Is Planning Its Narrative On Waqf Protests

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Last Updated:April 14, 2025, 11:29 IST

The BJP aims for Hindu polarisation successful West Bengal, citing the Bangladesh concern wherever the Hindu number suffered violence, portion the TMC worries that the basal whitethorn outgo it successful the 2026 elections

BJP person Suvendu Adhikari takes portion successful a procession connected the juncture of Hanuman Jayanti successful Kolkata. (PTI)

Political conflict lines are drawn erstwhile again successful West Bengal wherever anti-Waqf protests snowballed into communal violence, sidesplitting three, and mounting the code for the assembly predetermination the adjacent year.

Amid the increasing unrest, which forced the Calcutta High Court to inquire the authorities to question cardinal forces with contiguous effect, the BJP has pointed to deficiency of sensitivity connected the portion of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), citing instances of MP Yusuf Pathan talking astir his ‘chai’ connected Instagram and his workfellow Derek O’ Brien taking to Facebook to showcase his ‘Sunday lunch’ with catfish, spinach, dal and rice.

Given the unrest, the BJP is espousing the origin of the Hindus who represent astir 70 per cent of the population. It is besides portraying the ruling TMC arsenic siding with the minorities of the authorities who person been a coagulated enactment strategy for Mamata Banerjee’s enactment since 2011.

However, much than 3 BJP leaders News18 spoke to, accidental determination lies a twist successful the tale.

Polarisation has suited some the BJP and the TMC successful the past, making it a two-way contention and leaving the Congress and CPI(M) redundant. It helped BJP with 18 Lok Sabha seats successful 2019 but the numbers dwindled successful the 2021 assembly predetermination wherever information suggests the saffron enactment trailed successful 8 districts specified arsenic Nadia, Hooghly and West Midnapore wherever implicit 60 per cent of the colonisation is Hindu. So, what is BJP’s strategy to consolidate Hindu votes this clip and however is it immoderate different?

“In 2019, determination was a subtle Hindutva propulsion successful a authorities wherever Hindus were forced to spot however students were being killed for demanding teachers successful classes (Daribhit, 2018) oregon roadblocks were created astatine galore places erstwhile they wanted to clasp Saraswati Puja successful schools (Tehatta, 2017). As a result, we saw overwhelming nationalist information successful Ram Navami processions," said a BJP person successful West Bengal, requesting anonymity. However, the person adds, their Hindutva propulsion failed successful 2021 erstwhile TMC’s Bengali vs Outsider communicative triumphed. “This time, it is not the BJP that is pushing anything. We are holding a reflector to Hindu society, making them realise it’s an existential situation for the community. If they (Muslims) tin clasp the authorities to ransom and termination you for nothing, it should ringing alarm bells. We are simply showing them the reality. This is not an predetermination strategy," helium adds.

The messaging excessively has been brazen, dissimilar successful the past. Take the lawsuit of BJP’s nationalist spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari who took to X to telephone the unit pre-planned and alleged “it’s designed to nonstop a chilling governmental connection to the Hindus of Bengal". Bhandari added: “Demography is wide democracy’s destiny!"

The person was referring to Murshidabad, Malda and Uttar Dinajpur — 3 districts wherever Muslims signifier the bulk of the population. Murshidabad district, which has been witnesser to monolithic communal flare-ups, has 66.27 per cent Muslims, according to the 2011 census. The Hindu assemblage present is conscionable 33.21 per cent of the population. Even 4 years ago, 1 could not person imagined the BJP sending retired specified evident messaging.

About 178 kilometres from Murshidabad’s Jangipur, which witnessed tense communal violence, erstwhile Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh took portion successful a Hanuman Jayanti solemnisation connected Sunday. The proverbial ‘Hindu-Muslim Bhai Bhai’ slogan has been tweaked present by Ghosh who asked for “Hindu Hindu Bhai Bhai". With a much colloquial mentation of PM Narendra Modi’s “Ek hain toh harmless hain" slogan, Ghosh talked astir however Kirtan groups and the Matua assemblage (a beardown BJP ballot bank) were among the galore branches that came unneurotic for the event.

West Bengal’s person of absorption Suvendu Adhikari was astir apt the astir brazen of the batch erstwhile helium raised the contented of the 2 Hindu victims killed successful the communal violence.

“Hara Gobinda Das and Chandan Das were astatine their home. What was their fault? Their responsibility was they were Hindus. The mode they were attacked with a chopper…Have you guys seen the look of Hara Gobinda Das? Have you seen the photo?… A ‘Jihadi’ utilized the sanction of Modi-ji and Amit Shah-ji time earlier yesterday [Hanuman Jayanti] and said: ‘This is nothing. Our festival is coming. We volition slaughter Hindus’," claimed Adhikari.

The 3 radical reported dormant successful the West Bengal unit successful Murshidabad connected April 12 were Hara Gobinda Das, Chandan Das, and Izaz Ahmed Sheikh. While the father-son duo was hacked to decease by a mob connected Saturday, 17-year-old Sheikh succumbed to slug wounds aft constabulary opened occurrence successful Suti connected Friday.

For the Bengal BJP, determination seems to beryllium thing that is taboo arsenic acold arsenic sermon is acrophobic — Naming religion, magnifying Hindu victimhood oregon creating a fearfulness psychosis by talking astir demographic shift. The property of subtleties and nuanced references is implicit for the party. It present communicates straight with 70.54 per cent of Bengal’s population, suggesting their lone mode retired is simply a BJP authorities successful 2026.

Bengal BJP MLA and frontrunner for the authorities president’s post, Agnimitra Paul, understands this displacement successful the party’s strategy for Bengal. Hence, her messaging excessively has go successful sync with BJP’s polarisation displacement 2.0. “They person lone 1 people — Hindu-less West Bengal. Our main curate is dancing to the tunes of Bangladeshi radicals who are sidesplitting Hindus there. This is simply a large docket to unify Bangladesh and West Bengal to signifier an Islamic state. This is the authorities of Mamata Banerjee for her ballot bank. She should beryllium arrested," alleged Paul. However, she did not furnish immoderate grounds to backmost her claim.

Unlike during the post-poll unit aft the 2021 loss, erstwhile galore BJP cadres felt deserted, the saffron enactment is making definite the victims are heard and seen this time. Adhikari has flashed his idiosyncratic email ID to liaison betwixt NGOs and affected Hindus truthful that alleviation worldly reaches them arsenic soon arsenic possible.

However, a faux pas by its authorities portion has embarrassed the party, too. West Bengal Police fact-checked however unit from different states and erstwhile years is being passed disconnected arsenic incidents from West Bengal, forcing Bengal BJP main Susanta Majumder to delete his tweet.

TMC latched connected to the faux pas, with its Rajya Sabha MP Susmita Dev calling it a “campaign of disinformation". “This is riot engineering, not politics," she claims. TMC spokesperson Riju Dutta alleges, “They (BJP) person perfected the creation of orchestrating riots, and they’re putting that expertise to usage successful Bengal."

But beyond the name-calling, adjacent TMC enactment is uncovering it hard to grasp this ‘new BJP’ successful Bengal which has launched a no-holds-barred onslaught connected the ruling enactment and its biggest face. From Sukanta Majumder’s “last informing to Mamata Banerjee" to Arjun Singh’s “will bring Hindus from Bihar, UP, Jharkhand and volition bare Murshidabad, Malda successful 1 day" — each are portion of this ‘new BJP’ syndrome which wants to beryllium seen arsenic the saviour of Hindus.

The BJP aims for Hindu polarisation successful West Bengal, citing the Bangladesh concern wherever the Hindu number suffered violence. The BJP has tried the instrumentality successful earlier elections excessively but not each Hindus ballot for the party, portion the Muslims gravitate towards the TMC. This time, the cognition owed to the Bangladesh unit could assistance the BJP successful West Bengal and TMC knows this whitethorn outgo it.

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April 14, 2025, 11:29 IST

News elections From Subtle To Brazen — How Bengal BJP 2.0 Is Planning Its Narrative On Waqf Protests