West Bengal crisis is political not law-and-order issue: Ram Madhav

Washington, Jan 12 (IANS) The situation in West Bengal must be addressed through political means rather than extraordinary central intervention, senior BJP leader Ram Madhav said, stressing that patience and sustained political engagement are key to challenging the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC).

Speaking at an Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP) interaction here, Madhav rejected repeated calls for drastic measures in the eastern state. “It’s a political fight. We have to fight it politically, have that patience,” he said.

He cautioned against impulsive approaches. “Don’t start thinking like..... If they don’t listen to me, I will go and do something to them,” he said, underscoring that India’s democratic system requires electoral solutions.

Madhav said violence and intimidation during elections in West Bengal remain a serious concern. “Bengal has that violent culture. After that, there will be attacks on some villagers, there will be attacks on some families,” he said, describing post-poll reprisals as “the unfortunate part.”

He alleged that the ruling party operates on multiple levels to maintain control. “They have the entire government in their pocket,” he said, claiming that party cadres are embedded within administrative structures down to the village level.

According to Madhav, the TMC combines party organisation, government machinery, and non-governmental networks. “They have an NGO, an IPAC-type augmentation, which has its paid functionaries right up to the village level,” he said.

Despite these challenges, Madhav said the BJP’s electoral performance has steadily improved. “We were able to do very well in the 2021 elections. We came second,” he said, arguing that many constituencies narrowly lost then remain within reach.

He said the task ahead is converting those second-place finishes into victories. “Those number two seats, how to be won this time?” he said, describing it as the key to forming the government.

Madhav also pointed to demographic changes as a long-term challenge. “There is a big demographic change that has happened in that state over decades,” he said, linking it to migration following the creation of Bangladesh in 1971.

He said infiltration along the India-Bangladesh border altered the political landscape in several districts. “Eight to ten districts in that state today have majority immigrant populations,” he said.

Madhav said the border has since been fenced, slowing infiltration. “We completed our fence of 2,009 kilometres along the border,” he said, adding that the challenge now lies in managing political consequences.

Referring to voter verification efforts, he said, “Close to six million people were found to be not genuine voters,” though he added that the matter was handled quietly. “Certain things let them happen instead of talking too much about them,” he said.

Madhav said the BJP remains confident of improvement in future elections. “I’m very confident that we will definitely do much better than what we had in 2021,” he said.

He reiterated that the central rule is not the answer. “It’s a political fight only. Don’t see it in any other way,” he said.