The general election in India has started with a lot of fanfare. Around 30 Loksabha seats are touching the Bangladesh border. Since India and Bangladesh enjoy close diplomatic ties, there will be a ‘Bangladesh factor’ in the Indian election.
Though, neither BJP nor Congress is using the Bangladesh card directly. In the last election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi used the Bangladesh card during the hustings; at a rally in Assam in 2014, he said that all illegal Bangladeshis will be sent back from Assam.
The illegal entry issue is still being used by BJP without naming Bangladesh. Senior fellow of Delhi based strategic think tank, ORF, Nironjon Saha, says, “Tensions created over the finalizing of National Register of Citizenship, NRC, in India’s north-eastern states are being used and those excluded from the citizenship list are being identified as illegal Bangladeshis.”
Most of the people excluded from the list are Muslims who speak Bangla. BJP’s president Amit Shah, declared at a rally in Darjeeling, “If we come to power then we shall make NRC for the whole country.”
We shall drive out all illegal entrants from India, however, we will treat Hindu and Buddhist refugees differently as we are bound by oath to give them citizenship, declared Amit Shah.
Though Amit Shah did not use the word Bangladesh, it was quite clear that he was referring to entrants from Bangladesh.
The alleged illegal entry from Bangladesh is a sensitive matter and Congress is moving cautiously on the matter. Congress manifesto says, “The illegal entry in Assam and north-east India is sensitive and those areas will be given the special status which is mentioned in the constitution.”
Meanwhile, in West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress says that they will not allow the NRC. In other states ‘drive out illegal Bangladeshis’ is being used as a rallying cry.