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Amit Shah renews ‘Sonar Bangla’ pitch for 2026 Bengal polls at a central Kolkata puja pandal
Amit Shah, who landed in Kolkata late on Thursday night, inaugurated a puja pandal at Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC) in Salt Lake and visited Kalighat Temple on Friday
Kolkata: Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday renewed the pitch of turning West Bengal into “Sonar Bangla” if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) comes to power in the state in 2026, while inaugurating a Durga Puja pandal in central Kolkata.
Addressing a gathering at the Operation Sindoor-themed Santosh Mitra Square Puja pandal, organised by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sajal Ghosh, Shah said, “I prayed to the Mother Goddess so that West Bengal may get such a government after the elections, which may turn the state into Sonar Bangla. Our Bengal should once again become safe, prosperous, peaceful and sujalam sufalam.”
State education minister Bratya Basu hit back, saying, “He (Shah) had raised the same pitch for Sonar Bangla ahead of the 2021 polls while praying before the Mother Goddess during the 2020 Durga Puja. They couldn’t come to power. Again, he has come back ahead of the 2026 polls. Again, they won’t be able to come to power. I would urge him to come to Bengal again during the Durga Puja in 2030 and dream of Sonar Bangla ahead of the 2031 assembly polls.”
The West Bengal assembly elections are scheduled to be held next year.
Shah, who landed in Kolkata late on Thursday night, inaugurated another puja pandal at the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC) in Salt Lake, organised by the BJP-backed Paschim Banga Sanskriti Mancha, and visited Kalighat Temple on Friday.
Shah also condoled the death of 11 people who were electrocuted in Kolkata and South 24 Parganas on Tuesday after heavy rains battered the city. “May the festival of Durga Puja lead Bengal towards new heights, and through the development of the state, may we be able to realise the dream of a developed India that our leader Narendra Modi ji has envisioned,” he added.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee attacked the Union Home Minister over “turning Bengal into Sonar Bangla.”
“One should first question the Home Minister on what basis the Centre has withheld funds to West Bengal amounting to ₹2 lakh crore. When will they release the funds? Roads and bridges are collapsing in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Has the BJP been able to make Sonar Gujarat, Sonar Maharashtra and Sonar Uttar Pradesh?” Banerjee said.
