West Bengal has become a major priority state for the Narendra Modi government and the BJP central leadership. For the BJP, West Bengal was an unfinished dream, an unfulfilled ambition, a dream that remained incomplete for decades.
After 1947, for the first time, the right-wing BJP came to power in West Bengal. The BJP’s top leadership strategy regarding West Bengal has two major dimensions.
The first is the development agenda. The BJP argues that the glory of West Bengal, especially Kolkata, once known as the ‘City of Renaissance, ‘ was damaged over several decades. During the election campaign, the BJP promised that it would restore the lost glory of Kolkata and bring back Bengal’s economic and cultural importance.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has personally shown interest in this matter. Recently, a meeting was held at the Prime Minister’s Office regarding the future economic roadmap of West Bengal.
Several important stakeholders participated in this discussion. NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Ashok Lahiri has emerged as a key figure in this process. Before presenting his first state budget in West Bengal, Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta travelled to Delhi and met Ashok Lahiri and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Several PMO officials were also involved in discussions about Bengal’s roadmap, how different sectors could be developed and how central government projects could be pushed forward in Bengal under the “double engine government” model. This was an important part of the discussion.
The second aspect is the BJP’s approach towards the previous Trinamool Congress government under Mamata Banerjee.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah is very serious about changing what the BJP describes as the “TMC culture of hooliganism”. In several party meetings, Amit Shah has made it clear that he does not want any compromise with the Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee leadership.
So why is Amit Shah so angry with Mamata Banerjee?
Amit Shah recently told some BJP leaders that regional parties often create mistrust and behave differently when they are in power. According to him, the attitude and approach of such ruling parties towards the central government have hurt the BJP leadership.
From Amit Shah’s perspective, the immediate target in West Bengal is the Trinamool Congress. The priority is to completely weaken TMC politically.
According to this strategy, even if the Congress gains something after the decline of TMC, that is not the immediate concern. The BJP believes Congress can be dealt with later. But first, Trinamool Congress has to be finished.
Why is this the priority? Especially because of the Bangladesh issue.
There was an incident involving Mamata Banerjee’s comments on Bangladesh-related matters. After that, many in the central government advised that reacting immediately would complicate the situation further. Intelligence agencies and officials reportedly suggested avoiding confrontation because it could create more problems.
But this incident remained painful for Amit Shah.
At one point, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had wanted to maintain a certain level of respect and political relationship with Mamata Banerjee. But later, according to this political assessment, Amit Shah felt that Mamata Banerjee had damaged that relationship and failed to maintain it.
The second factor was personal political experience. Amit Shah has been very vocal against political violence and the culture of intimidation. He had earlier spoken about stopping “Jungle Raj” in Bihar, and similarly, he wants to challenge what he sees as political violence and organisational problems in Bengal.
The third point is about party leadership. According to Amit Shah’s view, the myth surrounding Mamata Banerjee’s political dominance has to be challenged. He believes that no compromise will be made regarding Abhishek Banerjee’s political expansion and influence.
Another important strategy is to create a split within Trinamool Congress.
A split can happen both in the parliamentary party and the legislative party. The idea is to create two different factions within TMC.
One faction could be led by Kunal Ghosh and remain loyal to Mamata Banerjee’s TMC.
Another faction could emerge under leaders like Rito Brata, who could take an opposing position. The objective behind such a strategy would be to make the Trinamool Congress fight internally against itself. If such an internal battle happens, the BJP believes it will benefit politically because the public display of internal conflict within TMC will expose the party’s weaknesses.
The BJP argues that those who are involved in corruption and political wrongdoing inside the Trinamool Congress should be exposed publicly. If their image is damaged in front of the people, it will weaken the organisation further.
This is also considered part of the BJP’s larger political strategy: weaken Mamata Banerjee, weaken Abhishek Banerjee, and gradually establish the BJP’s political culture and rule in West Bengal.
The BJP believes that in the next 25 years, it wants to establish a long-term political presence and ideological influence in Bengal. At the same time, the media ecosystem in West Bengal has also changed rapidly, and many sections have become more supportive of this political shift. The BJP’s approach is therefore not only electoral but also ideological, to reshape the political narrative of Bengal. The larger question is why Bengal has become such an important priority for the BJP.
For the BJP central leadership, West Bengal represents the completion of a political mission that remained unfinished for decades. After forming governments in many other states, gaining power in Bengal was considered a major ideological and organisational challenge.
The BJP believes that Bengal has historical importance, cultural importance, and strategic importance.
The party wants to combine development politics with a narrative of cultural identity. This is why the BJP is focusing on both economic development and the political transformation of Bengal.
The development side includes investment, infrastructure, industry, and central projects. The political side involves challenging the dominance of the Trinamool Congress and creating a new political identity in the state.
The BJP’s leadership believes that if TMC’s organisational structure weakens and internal conflicts increase, the party can gradually replace Trinamool as the main political force in West Bengal.
However, the political battle in Bengal is not only about parties but also about narratives, emotions, and identity. The BJP is attempting to build a new narrative around governance, nationalism, and cultural pride, while the Trinamool Congress continues to defend its own political legacy and social base.
The coming years will determine whether the BJP’s strategy succeeds or whether the Trinamool Congress manages to rebuild itself and challenge this new political phase.
