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The Hindu
14-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Operation Sindoor and the Battle for Bengal: Modi vs Mamata in Early 2026 Poll Push
Published : Jun 14, 2025 14:28 IST - 8 MINS READ The election fever seems to have hit West Bengal earlier than usual this year. With close to a year remaining before the 2026 Assembly election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent public rally in north Bengal and the subsequent reaction by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have kick-started preparations for the battle for Bengal, setting the tone for upcoming electoral campaigns in the State. Apart from the usual issues of corruption, misrule, law and order, and politics of appeasement, the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has now brought new weapons to its arsenal to take on the ruling Trinamool Congress—Operation Sindoor, 'Vikshit Bharat' (Developed India), and the attacks on Hindus in West Bengal's Murshidabad district during recent anti-Waqf Act protests. On May 29, while Trinamool Lok Sabha MP and party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee was garnering support for India against Pakistan as part of an all-party delegation for India's global outreach on Operation Sindoor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the Trinamool government while addressing a public rally in Alipurduar district in north Bengal. Though still very early to launch an electoral campaign for the Assembly election, Modi's speech left little doubt that the BJP had shifted into election gear. While he attacked Mamata Banerjee's government on familiar issues—corruption, the School Service Commission recruitment scam that resulted in more than 25,000 teachers losing their jobs, misrule, law and order, and alleged appeasement politics—the subjects that took centre stage were the success of Operation Sindoor and the promise of 'Vikshit Bharat' by 2047. Also Read | Mamata Banerjee's corruption crackdown: Calculated move or genuine reform? Referring to the Durga Puja tradition of 'Sindoor khela' (where married women apply vermilion on each other on the last day of Durga Puja), Modi said, 'I have come to the land that celebrates Sindoor Khela... People of Bengal were very angry after the terror attack in Pahalgam, and I could understand your anger. The terrorists wiped out our sisters' sindoor, but soldiers taught them the power of sindoor.' He said that Pakistan, which indulges in 'terror tactics' after failing in battle, has been made to understand that there is a 'price to pay' for a terror strike. In the same rally, BJP State president and junior Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar spoke of his party carrying out 'Operation Bengal' in the coming days. 'I can see thousands of workers in front of me, and they will carry out 'Operation Bengal' like 'Operation Sindoor'. They will uproot the government from this State and throw it into the Bay of Bengal,' Majumdar said. It soon became clear that Operation Sindoor would be central to the Bengal election campaign when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reacted with her customary belligerence and attacked the Prime Minister for using military action against Pakistan as an election tool. 'Pahalgam and Operation Sindoor have become election issues that are being brought up in rallies... Why haven't the terrorists responsible for wiping the sindoor from the women been arrested yet? They are playing politics with a serious issue, and that is unacceptable,' Mamata said soon after Modi's speech. Launching a personal attack on Modi, she said, 'First he was a tea seller, then a chowkidar, and now he is selling sindoor... You are not the husband of everybody. Why don't you give sindoor to your missus first? Sorry to say. I should not go into all these matters. But you compel us in the name of Operation Sindoor (when your party men refer to) Operation Bengal. You compel us to open our mouths.' She challenged Modi to announce an early election. 'If you have the power, then hold the elections tomorrow itself. Bengal will never fall into the hands of the BJP,' she said, refuting the Prime Minister's allegations. Two days later, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while addressing a party workers' meeting in Kolkata on June 1, alleged that Mamata Banerjee was opposed to Operation Sindoor in line with her politics of Muslim appeasement. Politics over Operation Sindoor intensified further when on June 10, the West Bengal Assembly unanimously passed a resolution lauding the Indian armed forces in their recent battle with Pakistan. 'This house commends the coordinated efforts of the different wings of the Indian Armed Forces in targeting with absolute precision and destroying major terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), and places on record its gratitude and appreciation for their relentless efforts in protecting the pride and dignity of the nation,' the resolution read. However, Mamata also came down heavily on the Union government for failing to pre-empt the terror strike in Pahalgam, not apprehending the perpetrators, missing the 'opportunity' to capture PoK, and failing to prevent Pakistan from getting the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan. The BJP countered by pointing out that the term Operation Sindoor was conspicuously absent. Labelling it as an attempt to deliberately undermine the armed forces' operation, Leader of the Opposition, BJP's Suvendu Adhikari said, 'Why is there an objection to the word 'Sindoor' in the proposal? Why is the name missing?' Days before the resolution was passed, Trinamool MLA Narendranath Chakraborty from Pandaveswar in Paschim Bardhaman stirred controversy when he claimed that Operation Sindoor was a 'pre-planned drama, a game in the name of war.' Political observers have pointed out that the issue of conflict with Pakistan has repeatedly served the BJP well in both State and union elections; this time too, the saffron party intends to make full political use of the strikes against Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack. Veteran political observer Biswajit Bhattacharya noted, 'While the BJP hopes that Operation Sindoor will work as a key factor in the West Bengal election, its more immediate concern is the Bihar Assembly election. By raising the issue of Operation Sindoor so early in Bengal, the BJP is killing two birds with one stone—it is going for a head start in campaigning here, and it is also addressing the substantial number of voters from Bihar who work in Bengal and return to the State during elections. Also, conflict with Pakistan has played a key role in several of BJP's electoral triumphs—be it the Uri surgical strike in 2016 or the Balakot airstrike in 2019. However, in 2024, they did not get the same results with the Ram Mandir issue. So, the BJP is banking on Operation Sindoor this time.' Communal disharmony The BJP also hopes to capitalise on growing polarisation along communal lines, particularly after the flare-up in Murshidabad, where Hindus, who are a minority in the district, were attacked during anti-Waqf Act protests across the State. Calling Mamata's government a 'nirmamata' (lacking in sympathy) government, Modi said, 'In the name of appeasement, lawlessness was allowed free sway (in Murshidabad and Malda). Imagine the horror when members of the ruling party, including an MLA, identified and burned down houses of people and the police stood by watching… Can a government continue in this fashion?' Mamata stuck to her party's claim that the communal flare-up was the BJP's doing. 'What happened at Malda and Murshidabad was done by the BJP. The BJP is an expert in starting riots, and I can provide documentation and evidence of that. Bengal has a humane government, while Modi's is a corrupt government,' she said. However, a three-member fact-finding committee set up by the Calcutta High Court to investigate the Murshidabad riots mentioned in its report that local Trinamool leaders, including an MLA, were indeed present at the site of the violence. Also Read | BJP's Bengal blues According to psephologist Biswanath Chakraborty, though still quite early, the agenda for the coming election in Bengal has already been set. 'Modi has set the agenda for the 2026 Assembly election in the State. Alongside the issues of misgovernance and corruption, he has introduced two new aspects—the issue of nationalism, riding on Operation Sindoor; and the vision of Vikshit Bharat by 2047. The point he made was that when India is aiming to become a developed nation by 2047, West Bengal cannot afford to be left behind, and Mamata has failed to develop the State. At the same time, we can also expect that Hindutva politics will be projected in a huge way, particularly with reference to the Murshidabad riots,' he told Frontline. For all the issues at the BJP's disposal against the ruling party, the saffron party is still trailing a very distant second behind Trinamool when it comes to political influence in the State. Its organisation remains much to be desired, and even in its stronghold of north Bengal, it is losing ground. In fact, just two weeks before Modi's public rally in Alipurduar, former BJP MP and Union Minister John Barla, one of the most influential tribal leaders from the tea gardens of the region, joined Trinamool, claiming that the BJP had done little for the development of north Bengal. Moreover, even as Modi and Mamata exchange barbs, the argument that there exists a 'secret understanding' between the BJP at the Centre and its erstwhile ally, the Trinamool, continues to gain strength in the State. The apparent foot-dragging by central investigating agencies in probes against the Trinamool, and the latter's perceived cooperation with the Centre behind a mask of animosity in Parliament, are not the only justifications for such suspicion. A week before Modi visited the State, former BJP State president Tathagata Roy himself had hinted at the possibility of a 'setting' between the Centre and the State in a social media post. He had, of course, clarified that he was not 'certain' about the existence of such an understanding. The coming days may perhaps shed more light on it.
India Today
02-06-2025
- Politics
- India Today
BJP's Dilip Ghosh skips Amit Shah's Bengal meet amid rift rumours: Wasn't invited
Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to West Bengal on Sunday was viewed as crucial for the BJP, and the move was even dubbed 'Operation Bengal', ahead of the state elections. However, senior party leader Dilip Ghosh was conspicuously absent from the BJP's organisational meeting with Shah, fuelling rumours of a rift between him and the explained his absence, saying he was not invited to the was the second time in less than a week that the ex-MP and former state BJP chief was absent from a programme of a top BJP leader. The other instance was the public meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Alipurduar in northern West Bengal on May 29. 'I was not invited. I think many other former BJP presidents were also not invited. In such a situation, there is no rule against not being invited to the organisational meeting. Now only those people can tell why I am not being invited," Ghosh told India remarked, "The new people who have been given responsibility by the party were present at the meeting. They will make decisions, and we will follow them". Speculation about a rift strengthened recently after Ghosh met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee following the inauguration of the newly built Jagannath Temple in Digha. Several BJP leaders accused him of cosying up to the Trinamool Congress supremo and betraying the sentiments of the party rank and sources suggested that Ghosh's meeting with Banerjee could be the reason why he was sidelined from the crucial meetings, though he maintained that he had every right to visit a place of worship and that no one could question his integrity or credentials as a BJP had also made similar remarks before PM Modi's public meeting, stating that he was not invited by the state BJP when asked about Ghosh's absence from key party programmes, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar appeared to brush it off, saying, "Dilip da is a veteran leader. I can't really comment on his absence."The assembly elections in West Bengal are expected to be held before March 2026, with the BJP aiming to unseat Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool began his political journey in the 1980s as a volunteer with the RSS within the saffron fold. Over the years, he held several key positions both within the BJP organisation and in its electoral 2015, Ghosh was first appointed as the West Bengal State President of the BJP and returned to lead the party in 2020. He is also a sitting MLA and won the Medinipur Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 general elections, during which the party secured 18 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state under his Watch IN THIS STORY#West Bengal#Bharatiya Janta Party
India Today
31-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Amit Shah kicks off 'Operation Bengal', poll strategy, state chief pick on cards
With Union Home Minister Amit Shah set to arrive in Kolkata for a two-day visit on Saturday, possibly to formulate the BJP's 2026 Assembly strategy, a fierce war of words has erupted between the saffron party and the ruling Trinamool whose visit comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to Bengal and attacked the Mamata Banerjee-led government over the Murshidabad riots and alleged scams, has a busy itinerary on schedule includes inaugurating a new facility at the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), followed by a major political rally at Netaji Indoor Stadium, where he will address BJP leaders and supporters. Party insiders indicated that Shah would outline a strategic plan to strengthen the BJP's position for the upcoming 2026 elections. There is also speculation that the visit may involve discussions on selecting a new state BJP current president, Dr Sukanta Majumder, is serving an extended term. He was made an Union Minister after the Modi government returned to power in 2024 for the third consecutive no official statement has been released by the BJP on this matter. Additionally, Shah will visit Swami Vivekananda's residence on Simla Street to pay his respects before departing for Delhi on Sunday VS TRINAMOOL WAR OF WORDSadvertisementThe visit has led to a fierce sparring between the BJP and TMC has accused the BJP of using 'Operation Sindoor', during which the armed forces destroyed nine terror camps in Pakistan and hit military bases, for political an interview with India Today, TMC minister Sashi Panja dismissed BJP leaders as "seasonal visitors" attempting to sway Bengal's voters without genuine commitment. She argued that the BJP's alleged insensitivity towards women's issues would prevent them from gaining traction in the a sharp rebuttal, Dr Sukanta Majumder defended the party's agenda, stating that Amit Shah's visit would provide a clear blueprint for the 2026 elections. He described the efforts as 'Operation Bengal', a mission to "uphold the honour of Bengal's women".Majumder said Shah's meetings with mandal presidents and senior leaders would galvanise the party's grassroots efforts. The development underscores the high stakes for the parties in the 2026 Watch
Arabian Post
31-05-2025
- Politics
- Arabian Post
Mamata Is Right – PM Is Using Operation Sindoor To Further BJP's Interests
By Nitya Chakraborty West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee was right when she said on Thursday replying to the Prime Minister's vicious attacks against her and her government that Narendra Modi was making use of the Operation Sindoor to achieve cheap political gains for the BJP in the coming assembly polls in the state in early 2026. This was the first such unambiguous attack against the partisan politics of the Prime Minister who has been trying to convert the success of the Indian army against Pakistan through Operation Sindoor into political gains for the BJP through his election oriented speeches since May 10 when the India-Pakistan truce took place. In the last twenty days, since May 10, the opposition parties extended in full their cooperation to the union government led by Narendra Modi and even took part in the all party Parliamentary delegations sent by the Prime Minister to the foreign countries to explain the Indian position. The PM talked of the need for national unity at this hour, every party responded. Instead of reciprocating that gesture, the Prime Minister, the leader of the 142 crore people of India used his public meetings in the last two weeks to denigrate the opposition and involving the Operation Sindoor with the BJP's other operation like Operation Bengal. Just imagine, in the public meeting held at Alipurduar in West Bengal on Thursday afternoon, the state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar told the rally in the presence of the Prime Minister that like Operation Sindoor , Operation Bengal would be organized to throw out the TMC government in the Bay of Bengal waters. The BJP boss has every right to talk about throwing out the TMC government in a political rally, but he was mixing Operation Sindoor the programme of united India with the partisan objective of the BJP in Bengal. That too in the presence of Narendra Modi, the so called symbol of national unity. The opposition leaders must have realized by now that the Prime Minister is playing his political game by saying that Operation Sindoor is on pause and any time, it could commence again. This is a military strategy and not to be announced in public rallies. The PM wants this war fever to continue in the country so that the BJP can have political capital in the coming elections in Bihar followed by the polls in other states Bengal, Kerala, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. This is amply clear from the way his road shows have been organized in Bihar and Gujarat in the recent days. Mamata was correct when she replied to the Prime Minister two hours after his public meeting on Thursday 'What Modiji said today, we are not only shocked but also very sad to hear the voice of the prime minister when all the opposition (leaders) are representing the country to the world, they are taking the bold decision to protect the country's interest, national interest. We will protect the country because it is our motherland. But is it the time for the prime minister of the country, Narendra Modi, and in his presence, his minister, to say that they will do Operation Bengal, like Operation Sindoor? I challenge them. If they have guts, go into elections tomorrow, we are ready and Bengal is ready to accept your challenge,' she said. Such a rebuff from a senior opposition leader to the Prime Minister was needed because Narendra Modi was going the wholehog against the opposition taking advantage of the docility of the INDIA Bloc constituents in view of the present period of India-Pak tensions. The opposition has given enough leeway to the Prime Minister but he has not honoured that. It is time the opposition starts functioning normally strongly demanding the immediate convening of special session of Parliament to discuss the situation and seek explanations on many vital issues which till now remain answered. Just as Mamata posed the question to the PM why the terrorists who carried out Pahalgam massacre on April 22 have not yet been nabbed. Yet. Or why Prime Minister is silent on continuous claim of Trump and other U.S. officials that Trump used trade threat to India and Pakistan to agree to ceasefire. It was meant more to India as India was winning on May 10 morning. What did the US vice president J D Vance tell the Prime Minister on May 9? Did he convey the threat given by Trump? The US trade department said the same thing in court. They must have record. PM has to categorically rebut that by coming out with his own statement. Why is he keeping silent and let others speak? These are the issues to be put to the government now.. Since the PM has crossed lakshmanrekha on keeping the national unity including the opposition parties, the India Bloc has no moral responsibility now to play by the rules set by the Prime Minister. Let them follow Mamata. She has set the agenda. It is time, the India Bloc parties discuss and start behaving as the real opposition. Enough is enough. (IPA Service)
India Gazette
30-05-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
'Instead of taking action against Pahalgam terrorists...': Cong leader V Hanumantha Rao targets Centre
Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], May 30 (ANI): Former Congress Rajya Sabha Member, V Hanumantha Rao, alleged that the Centre is targeting the Opposition instead of taking action against terrorists who attacked in Pahalgam. Talking to ANI, Rao said, 'Innocent people were killed (in Pahalgam), after which all political parties came together to finish terrorism. Everyone was openly supporting whatever action we were taking to finish terrorism. Now, after the Pahalgam, four members of a terrorist organisation are roaming here and there. But unfortunately, the Indian government, instead of taking action against Pahalgam terrorists, is attacking the Opposition parties. It is not correct.' He added that Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Congress General Secretary in-charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh are also saying the same. Former MP Rao said that the Opposition's opinion was not taken for the ceasefire and asked the Centre, 'Why have you not consulted all the parties?' (sic) Earlier speaking to ANI, Jairam Ramesh said, 'These terrorists of Pahalgam were involved in four attacks, and still they are roaming around here and there. Our MPs are roaming, and terrorists are also roaming. We are asking these questions seriously. They do not answer these questions.' 'The BJP only targets the Congress party. Their attack is on the Congress party; it should be on the terrorists. Action should be taken against Pakistan. The terrorists should be arrested. The missiles that are being launched every day are being launched against the Congress party...' Ramesh added. Mamata Banerjee also accused the BJP of trying to politicise Operation Sindoor and said such remarks are being made when all-party delegations are visiting partner countries. She said, 'What Modi ji said today, we are not only shocked but also very sad to hear this, when the Opposition is representing the his presence, his minister said that they will do Operation Bengal, like Operation Sindoor. I challenge them - if they have guts, go into elections tomorrow, we are ready and Bengal is ready to accept your challenge. But please remember, time is a factor. You must remember the time. Our representative Abhishek Banerjee is also in the team.' (ANI)
