NEW DELHI: Bihar is all set for a bitter political slugfest over the issue of "illegal migration" - with
Prime Minister Narendra Modi setting the stage for an all-out offensive against the opposition . The PM's charge comes amid a sustained opposition campaign against the
BJP over allegations of "vote theft" in the poll-bound state.
"Such is vote bank politics that Congress, RJD and their entire ecosystem are busy defending and shielding the foreign infiltrators. They have become so shameless that they are raising slogans and taking out yatras in support of infiltrators from foreign countries ... ," the Prime Minister said at a recent rally making sharp pointed attacks at the key Mahagathbandhan allies.
"Listen carefully to what I’m saying. Every infiltrator will have to leave. Putting a lock on infiltration is the firm responsibility of the NDA. In India, the law of the land will prevail, not the whims of infiltrators. This is Modi’s guarantee – action will be taken, and the country will see positive results," the Prime Minister added addressing a rally in Purnea.
The Prime Minister's attack was followed up by a warning from Union home minister Amit Shah who alleged that Rahul Gandhi-led opposition's "Vote Adhikar Yatra" in Bihar was actually aimed at protecting the voting rights of the infiltrators.
The 14-day Voter Adhikar Yatra, led by Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav, saw a united opposition mobilisation as the Mahagathbandhan leaders accused the Election Commission of undertaking the SIR process in the state to help the BJP.
Interestingly, this is not the first time we have heard the top BJP leaders raise pitch over the issue of illegal infiltration in the run up to assembly elections in a state. In states like Assam and West Bengal, illegal infiltration is already a key poll issue. Delhi and Jharkhand saw a very strong campaign led by BJP against illegal infiltration ahead of elections.
BJP’s playbook?During the assembly elections in Delhi, the issue of illegal Rohingya and Bangladeshi immigrants gained traction. BJP's top brass accused AAP government of settling Bangladeshi and Rohingyas in South Delhi's Okhla.
"AAP committed 'sin' by settling Bangladeshi, Rohingya infiltrators in Okhla," UP CM Yogi Adityanath had said.
During the run up to the election, Bharatiya Janata Party and Aam Aadmi party locked horns over 'illegal voters' registered in the capital.
BJP had accused AAP of giving Bangladeshi and Rohingya "infiltrators" the right to vote in Delhi as well as adding fake voters through forged documents. Meanwhile, AAP countered BJP's allegations by calling out the "deliberate" and "unconstitutional" deletion of voters' names from the poll roll.
"Our party's stand is that the infiltrators from Bangladesh and the Rohingya cannot be accepted as voters in India. We will not allow such people to vote and will ensure that we identify them and get their names removed from the voters' list. Those who helped these people obtain forged documents should be brought to justice. What problem can the AAP have with this?" BJP MP Manoj Tiwari had said.
Kejriwal, in turn, accused BJP of equating Purvanchalis with Rohingya and Bangladeshis .
"BJP president JP Nadda openly admitted in Parliament to the deletion of names of Purvanchalis, Rohingya and Bangladeshis. The Purvanchalis are being called Rohingya. How can those who came from UP and Bihar to Delhi and were settled here for 30-40 years be called Rohingya or Bangladeshi?" Kejriwal had said.
The fact that the BJP managed to disloge AAP government by winning 48 out of 70 seats would suggest that the offensive may have worked for the saffron party. However, as most post poll anlyses hinted - the BJP victory was perhaps more due to the fact that Congress had made the polls a three-way fight.
In Jharkhand, top BJP leaders, including PM Modi, Amit Shah, and UP CM Yogi Adityanath, campaigned across the state and accused the Hemant Soren-led JMM government of converting the state into a dharmashala for Rohingyas and Bangladeshi infiltrators.
In that election, Yogi pitched the "katenge to batenge" rhetoric to exhort people to stay united. This poll pitch was later refined by PM Modi and converted into "Ek rahoge to safe rahoge."
PM Modi also reinforced this pitch when he said: "Appeasement politics has reached its pinnacle in Jharkhand, where the JMM-led coalition is busy supporting Bangladeshi infiltrators. If this continues, the tribal population in Jharkhand will shrink. This is a threat to tribal society and the country. This coalition has become a 'Ghuspaithiya Bandhan' and a 'Mafia ka Gulam'."
'Conspiracy to change the nation’s demography'Additionally, during his Independence Day address, PM Modi warned the country of a premeditated conspiracy to change the nation’s demography through illegal infiltration and said no nation can tolerate intruders, as he announced a high-powered demographic mission to tackle the problem.
"I wish to warn the country about a concern that is emerging as a crisis. As part of a premeditated conspiracy, the country’s demography is being changed. Seeds of a new crisis are being sown," the prime minister said.
"These ghuspaithiyas [infiltrators] are snatching the bread and butter of our youth. These ghuspaithiyas are targeting our country’s daughters and sisters. This will not be tolerated. These ghuspaithiyas are befooling innocent tribals and capturing their forest land. This country will not tolerate this," he added.
As the Election Commission prepares to announce poll dates after the SIR process, BJP top leaders are raising the infiltration issue. However, what is interesting is that both PM Modi and Amit Shah raised the issue while speaking in the Seemanchal region - Purnea and Forbesganj. But why is it important?
Talking to The Times of India, BJP Bihar vice president Santosh Pathak said that the recently concluded SIR process confirmed the presence of infiltrators in Seemanchal.
"Even though the matter falls under the Union List, at the local level, people coming from Bangladesh are easily provided with Aadhaar cards," he claimed.
"The SIR has been completed, and so far, no objections have been filed by those excluded in the process, which shows that there are indeed infiltrators in the Seemanchal districts," Pathak said.
"Even though the matter falls under the Union List, at the local level people coming from Bangladesh are easily provided with Aadhaar cards. Whenever it comes to Muslims, the entire opposition unites and stands together," he added.
Pathak, however, said that infiltration is not an issue for BJP in this election and that the NDA will contest only on the plank of development.
"That said, infiltration is not a major issue in this Bihar election. We are contesting this election on the plank of development," he said.
Why Seemanchal matters for BJPInterestingly, BJP is raking up this issue from Seemanchal, which shares its border with West Bengal and has the highest percentage of Muslim population in the state. Overall, the Muslim population in Seemanchal is 47 percent, compared to 17.7 percent across Bihar, as per the 2011 census.
Seemanchal has 24 of Bihar’s 243 assembly seats across four districts: Purnia, Araria, Kishanganj, and Katihar. The RJD-Congress alliance has traditionally enjoyed strong support here among Muslim and Yadav voters.
In the previous election, Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM made a surprise entry, winning five seats. This split the opposition vote and indirectly benefited the BJP, which emerged as the single largest party in the region.
The Bihar elections 2025 are likely to be held in October-November. The Election Commission is yet to announce the poll dates. This year, the contest will be between the NDA (led by BJP, JDU), Mahagathbandhan (led by Congress and RJD), and Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party.
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