Kolkata: A spectre is haunting West Bengal – not of communism or revolution, as Marx once wrote, but of corrosive communalism. Once a bastion of Marxists, the state, known for secular and ideologically-driven politics, is now witnessing an alarming shift towards religious polarisation. In a no-holds-barred battle between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), religious identity is being weaponised to consolidate vote banks, fundamentally altering the state’s political narrative as the 2026 Assembly elections draw near.
Gone are the days when class struggle or development policies dominated discussions. Hindu majoritarianism and minority appeasement are now the twin engines driving West Bengal’s political discourse. From legislative assembly debates to street corners, the rhetoric of religious identity is drowning out conversations on education, healthcare and employment.
Across Bengal, a jarring new sight greets passersby: saffron-hoisted banners proclaiming “Hindu-Hindu, bhai-bhai” (Hindus are brothers), erected by BJP workers indicating this changing political landscape. The slogan, a stark contrast to poet Kazi Nazrul Islam’s vision of Hindus and Muslims as “two blooms on one stem”, reduces Bengal’s pluralist legacy to a crude binary.
The script is familiar. Fresh from electoral success in Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi, the BJP is once again doubling down on its tried-and-tested formula of Muslim vilification – this time in Bengal.
The party’s aggressive Hindu consolidation strategy reached a fever pitch last week when BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, once seen attending iftars, vowed to “drag minority MLAs of TMC onto the streets” if voted to power. The threat was swiftly met with a retaliatory volley from TMC’s Humayun Kabir, a turncoat who contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls on a BJP ticket, declaring, “For me, my party comes second – my community comes first. If my community is attacked, I will not let it go unanswered.”
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.
