The BJP has once again revived the demand for the bifurcation of West Bengal. Anant Maharaj, the party’s Rajya Sabha MP from Cooch Behar, refreshed his demand for a Greater Cooch Behar state.
On the other hand, BJP’s Godda MP Nishikant Dubey, demanded on Thursday that Maldah and Murshidabad, along with three other districts from Bihar and the Santhal region in Jharkhand, be turned into Union Territories.
He alleged in Lok Sabha that illegal immigrants from Bangladesh were entering this region and inflicting a demographic change by marrying local women. The same was echoed by BJP’s Murshidabad MLA Gouri Shankar Ghosh.
“I said the same in 2022 in my letter to the honourable home minister. In many places, the border is unprotected as the state government is not providing area and electricity for fencing. As a result, Bangladeshi jihadis and terrorists are entering,” he told THE WEEK.
Meanwhile, Maharaj, the leader of the Greater Cooch Behar Movement, raised the demand for a separate state of Greater Cooch Behar, first inside the Parliament and then outside.
He said, “The injustice that has been done to the people of Cooch Behar since independence must be rectified now.”
“Cooch Behar [district] was never part of Bengal. It was integrated forcefully. The state of Greater Cooch Behar should be declared immediately,” he later told the media in Delhi, claiming that the Centre had already given a verbal assurance.
The Greater Cooch Behar Movement demands for a separate state comprising of six districts from north Bengal and lower parts of Assam.
Nonetheless, the Bengal BJP leadership has not officially supported these demands, highlighting rifts within the organisation. The party said that those demanding the partition of West Bengal were expressing their personal opinions.
While alleging that the law and order situation in West Bengal is deteriorating, especially in border districts such as Maldah and Murshidabad, and a demographic change is also occurring, BJP Rajya Sabha MP and spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya said that dividing the state was not the solution.
“The BJP officially believes that West Bengal’s development is possible by keeping its geography intact. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee gave birth to West Bengal. It is our baby,” he told a Bengali news channel. “Our politics is not based on dividing Bengal.”
However, Sukanta Majumdar, the Bengal BJP President, also sparked a controversy when he said that he had submitted a proposal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that North Bengal be integrated with the Northeast to avail better facilities and schemes for the development of the region.
“If in future, north Bengal, as part of West Bengal, is integrated with the Northeast, then funds for all the central schemes in north Bengal will increase. As a result, the region, which is backward, will develop. I hope the state government will not oppose this and we will get their support,” the Union Minister for State for Development of North Eastern Region said after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi.
Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has countered the saffron party, saying that it was conspiring for Bengal’s partition.
“This is a conspiracy to divide Bengal. They put an economic blockade on one side and then a geographical blockade on the other side. Then they put a political blockade. After trapping from all sides, they plan to break the country into pieces,” West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told the press on Friday.
“When the Parliament is in process, an MP is asking to divide Bengal. Different members are giving different members about dividing West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Assam,” she added. “To divide Bengal is to divide India.”
Experts believe that the BJP is using this issue to build a political narrative and stay relevant. “This is an emotional issue that gets instant attention from everyone. Right now, the BJP has not much to build a movement on,” Subhamoy Maitra, a professor at the Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata and a political analyst, told THE WEEK.
TMC MP from Cooch Behar Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia said that the BJP fears an embarrassing defeat in the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections thus the party is trying to create a false sentiment among the people of north Bengal.
“Rajbanshi people are very happy with the development that has happened in north Bengal since 2011. There is no Greater Cooch Behar movement anymore. BJP is trying to fool people,” he told THE WEEK.