West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led a rally in Kolkata on July 16 to protest against the persecution of Bengali speakers, mostly migrant workers, in states run by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). On the same day, the Calcutta High Court questioned the Union government’s targeting of such people and asked it to file a report on July 28.

On July 17, Banerjee percipiently pointed out that Rohingyas were not Bengali speakers, in response to Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari’s delusional allegation that they had been registered as voters on a large scale.

Samik Bhattacharya, the recently elected West Bengal BJP president, justified on July 9 the harassment of Bengali migrant workers while seeming to shift to a moderate line. But fault lines were exposed. Bhattacharya took charge on July 3, handpicked because of his suavity and ‘cultured’ image, acceptability to both the ‘old guard’ and later entrants, and his suitability to push a more inclusive line.

Bhattacharya initiated an outreach to Muslims, belatedly realising perhaps that merely consolidating the Hindu vote won’t work in Bengal. The BJP peaked in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections with 40.7 per cent of the vote and 18 seats of 42. A dip to 38.15 per cent in the 2021 assembly elections saw them finishing a distant runner-up. They settled at 38.73 per cent and 12 seats in the 2024 general elections. This trend is hardly good augury for the 2026 assembly elections.

But the inclusive........

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