Bengal, with its polarised minority vote, makes Hindutva & security good poll planks, feels BJP

NEW DELHI: Seeking to mobilise the electorate around its Hindutva agenda and a promised crackdown on infiltrators, while countering TMC's alleged appeasement of Muslim votes, BJP's Bengal manifesto sharpens its cultural nationalism plank and pairs it with its tried-and-tested welfare pitch, especially targeting women and youth, as it looks to take on CM Mamata Banerjee and end her 15-year rule.

Though the party has run a relatively low-key campaign, it has raised the pitch by stepping up its Hindutva outreach. The manifesto promises implementation of a Uniform Civil Code, a law to ensure freedom of religious practices - an issue on which it has often accused TMC of discriminating against Hindu traditions such as religious processions - and the establishment of a Vande Mataram museum. While this strategy carries risks, given Muslims account for about 27% of the population and may consolidate further behind the CM, BJP appears to be banking on a stronger consolidation of Hindu votes.





Released by home minister Amit Shah in Kolkata, the manifesto stresses national security, echoing commitments made in Assam, another state bordering Bangladesh. BJP has promised to provide land for completing fencing of India-Bangladesh border, alleging that gaps were deliberately left by previous Left and TMC govts to allow infiltration.

The party has long tapped into anxieties over alleged infiltration of Bangladeshis in Assam, where the Muslim population is higher, and has made a crackdown on illegal immigration a central part of its political and governance agenda over the past decade. It has similarly promised to end cattle smuggling and curb syndicates and the culture of "cut money" in Bengal - issues aimed at addressing concerns over women's safety, law and order, and what it describes as a nexus of local strongmen and cross-border criminal networks.

In the recently-held Assam polls, BJP had also promised UCC. It now hopes to replicate a similar political success in Bengal, despite Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool being seen as a far more entrenched and formidable rival.

While UCC is part of BJP's broader national agenda, it has not been included in every election manifesto, with Kerala being a recent example. Uttarakhand has become the first state to implement it, Gujarat has set up a committee to explore its rollout, and Goa continues to follow a version of it dating back to its pre-independence legal framework.

BJP believes WB's unique political landscape - marked by a direct contest with TMC and a largely polarised minority vote - makes its Hindutva and national security plank more electorally effective.

At the same time, the party has sought to outdo TMC govt on welfare, promising Rs 3,000 per month for both youth and women. With pro-women schemes often proving decisive, it has also pledged women-only police battalions and 33% reservation for women in govt jobs.

The inclusion of cash assistance for youth, not a feature in several other state campaigns, underlines BJP's attempt to position itself as a more attractive option for younger voters, despite criticism of offering freebies.

The manifesto also includes targeted outreach to key constituencies such as govt employees and influential social groups like Kurmis, Rajbongshis and tea garden workers, reflecting a calibrated effort to broaden its base.