Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister, made another attempt to suggest the concept of making West Bengal into Sonar Bangla, in the event that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumes power in the state during the 2026 assembly elections. Shah said the comments as he opened a Durga Puja pandal at Santosh Mitra Square in central Kolkata, with a theme of Operation Sindoor, which was arranged by BJP leader Sajal Ghosh.
Turning to the audience, Shah said, “I have prayed to the Mother Goddess in the hope that West Bengal will receive such a government after the elections that can make the state a Sonar Bangla. Back, back, should our Bengal be made safe and prosperous and peaceful and suvalam sufalam. Another visit by the BJP leader to Kolkata was the opening of another puja pandal in the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC) in Salt Lake, which was supported by Paschim Banga Sanskriti Mancha, and a visit to the Kalighat Temple.” He also sympathised with the demise of 11 individuals who were electrocuted in the recent past following the heavy rains that hit Kolkata and South 24 Parganas.
Bratya Basu, the Education Minister in the State government, came back with a stinging reply, reminding that Shah had already pitched Sonar Bangla before the 2021 elections, and that the BJP had not taken over power. Once again, he has exceeded the 2026 polls. Once again, they will not be able to come to power. He will be able to re-emerge in 2030 and fantasise about Sonar Bangla even before the 2031 elections, Basu said.
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee commented on Shah slamming the BJP on its purported development. “The first question to be brought up is why the Centre has not given West Bengal 2 lakh crore in the form of funds. It is the collapse of roads and bridges elsewhere as well. Has the BJP turned Gujarat into Sonar Gujarat, Maharashtra into Sonar Maharashtra or Uttar Pradesh into Sonar Uttar Pradesh?” Banerjee added.
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