Shah says BJP will win 110 seats in phase 1, promises swift implementation of CAA in Bengal

JAMALPUR: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday asserted that the BJP virtually sealed its victory in phase 1 of the West Bengal assembly polls itself, claiming the party would win 110 seats in the first leg of polling and promising swift implementation of the CAA, a crackdown on infiltration, and a “fear-free” Bengal for women after coming to power.

Addressing back-to-back rallies in Jamalpur of Purba Bardhaman district and Shyampur in Howrah, Shah sharpened the BJP’s campaign around three of its core Bengal planks—the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) for the Matua community, women’s safety, and alleged infiltration from Bangladesh—while projecting the election as a battle to end Mamata Banerjee’s rule.

“Voting for the first phase is over. In the very first phase itself, the BJP will win 110 seats, and Didi (Mamata Banerjee) will be thrown out of power. Instead of TMC, BJP will form the government here,” he said.

Polling was held in 152 of the 294 assembly constituencies on April 23 and recorded a turnout of nearly 93 per cent. The second phase of polling for the remaining 142 seats will be held on April 29. Results will be announced on May 4.

With the politically influential Matua community's vote central to BJP’s electoral calculations in several border districts, Shah accused Banerjee of deliberately blocking the implementation of the CAA and keeping those refugee families in uncertainty for vote-bank politics.

“Didi does not allow the implementation of the CAA. You form the government of the lotus, and after May 5, the BJP government will ensure that every brother and sister of the Matua community receives citizenship,” he said.

The former BJP president said members of the Matua community, many of whom migrated from Bangladesh and remain emotionally tied to the citizenship debate, would no longer have to “live in fear” under a BJP government.

He also linked infiltration to unemployment and resource scarcity, accusing the TMC leadership of shielding illegal entrants for electoral gains.

“Infiltrators in Bengal are eating away at our youths’ jobs and the poor’s rations. Didi and her nephew (TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee) are nurturing infiltrators for the sake of their vote bank. After May 5, the BJP government will handpick and drive out every single infiltrator from Bengal,” Shah said.

The remarks come amid a sharpened BJP pitch in border districts where questions of identity, refugee status and demographic anxieties remain electorally potent.

Seeking to consolidate Hindu votes further, Shah contrasted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya with controversial remarks allegedly made by TMC MLA Humayun Kabir.

“On one hand, after 550 years, Modi ji has built a grand temple of Lord Shri Ram in Ayodhya. On the other hand, Mamata Didi wants her disciple Humayun Kabir to build the Babri Masjid in Bengal. As long as even one BJP worker is alive, we will never allow the Babri Masjid to be built in Bengal,” he said.

On governance, Shah sought to widen the BJP’s social welfare pitch by announcing promises for government employees, women, unemployed youth and expectant mothers.

He said a BJP government would implement the 7th Pay Commission and ensure dearness allowance benefits for all state government employees, an issue that has repeatedly embarrassed the TMC government amid prolonged protests.

He also promised that women would receive Rs 3,000 every month directly in their bank accounts from June, unemployed youth would receive Rs 3,000 monthly assistance, and every pregnant woman would be given Rs 21,000 for childcare support.

Shah attacked the TMC government over women’s safety, invoking the RG Kar hospital rape-murder case, Sandeshkhali allegations, and incidents at law colleges in Kolkata and Durgapur to accuse the ruling dispensation of presiding over a collapse of law and order.

"Every incident has exposed the complete failure of Didi’s government in ensuring women’s safety,” he said.

Taking exception to Banerjee’s reported remarks advising women not to step out after 7 pm, Shah said such a statement itself reflected administrative failure.

“But after May 5, when the BJP forms the government, even if a girl decides to go out at 1 am, nobody will dare raise an eye on her,” he said.

At Shyampur, he added, “Mamata Didi’s time will end on May 4, and from May 5, the time of our mothers and sisters will begin.”

The Union minister also targeted Bengal’s entrenched “syndicate raj”, alleging that ordinary people were forced to pay extortion money for basic construction materials.

“To get cement, you have to pay the syndicate; for bricks, you have to pay the syndicate; for sand, you have to pay the syndicate. The BJP government will throw these syndicate people into the Bay of Bengal,” he said.

He accused TMC-backed “goons” of intimidating voters and issued a warning ahead of the second phase of polling.

“Do not step out on April 29. We are only cautioning you now. After May 5, you will be sent behind bars,” Shah said, escalating the BJP’s attack as the campaign enters its decisive stretch.