Releasing the ‘Sankalp Patra’, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the document aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a “Viksit Bharat” and focuses on development, employment, women’s empowerment and national security.
“Today, the Bharatiya Janata Party has just released its manifesto for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections. This manifesto provides a path to overcome the deep despair prevailing across all sections of Bengal. It offers new direction for farmers facing uncertainty due to crop losses, for unemployed youth, and for women living in fear. It also gives renewed hope and confidence to every citizen concerned about Bengal’s culture and its pride,” Shah said.
He added, “This manifesto is a path to bring every section of Bengal out of despair… It will also place before the people of Bengal the roadmap for the developed India envisioned by Prime Minister Modi… The people are frightened and disillusioned. The people want change from the heart.”
Also read: BJP Bengal manifesto: Amit Shah vows to implement Uniform Civil Code within 6 months
Cash promises, UCC push, crackdown on corruption
The BJP outlined a wide-ranging welfare and governance agenda, including direct cash transfers and legal reforms:
- ₹3,000 per month to every woman, to be credited between the 1st and 5th of each month
- ₹3,000 monthly assistance for graduate youth to prepare for jobs
- Free travel for women in government-operated buses
- Implementation of the 7th Pay Commission within 45 days
- Dearness Allowance (DA) for government employees and pensioners
- Free cancer screening and HPV vaccination for women
- Uniform Civil Code to be implemented within six months
The party also promised implementation of central schemes such as Ayushman Bharat and said students affected by exam paper leaks would be given five years of age relaxation.
Sharpening his attack on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s government, Shah said all corruption cases from the past 15 years would be probed and those found guilty jailed.
“We shared our chargesheet with Bengal’s citizens… that chargesheet was an intro to citizen’s disappointment towards Mamata Banerjee’s rule,” he said, adding that a white paper would detail alleged corruption, law and order breakdown, and governance failures under the TMC.
‘Detect, delete, deport’: BJP’s hardline on infiltration
Making national security a central plank, Shah said the BJP would adopt a policy of “zero tolerance towards infiltrators” and seal the state’s borders.
- “Detect, delete and deport” policy for illegal entrants
- Borders to be sealed to curb infiltration
- Strict laws to curb cattle smuggling
“If BJP gets majority, we will oust each and every infiltrator through ‘detect, delete, deport’,” he said.
He also alleged political misconduct by the ruling party:
- TMC won 2016 on “false promises”
- Secured 2021 victory “through graft, in nexus with infiltrators”
- Syndicate system and “cut money” culture to be dismantled
Jobs, industry push and ‘15-point’ development plan
Positioning the manifesto as a “15-point” roadmap, Shah said the BJP has outlined major commitments to boost employment and industrial growth:
- One crore jobs and self-employment opportunities over five years
- Financial assistance of ₹10,000 for unemployed youth
- Support and revival package for MSMEs
- Modernisation of small industries and jute sector
- Promotion of eco-friendly raw materials for bags, clothes and packaging
- Rejuvenation of tea gardens and strengthening Darjeeling tea brand
To address migration and “brain drain”, the party has proposed targeted youth support measures and skill-building initiatives.
Women, culture and governance reforms
The manifesto places strong emphasis on women’s safety and representation:
- 33% reservation for women in government jobs
- Women-only police battalions
- ‘Durga Suraksha Sahaya’ scheme for safety
It also promises broader social and cultural initiatives:
- Inclusion of Kurmali and Rajbanshi in the Eighth Schedule
- Registration of fishermen under PM Matsya Sampada Yojana
- Plan to make Bengal a fisheries export hub
- Expansion of AIIMS, IIT, and IIM in North Bengal
- ‘Vande Mataram’ museum to promote heritage
- Law to ensure freedom of religious practice
‘15 years a nightmare’, BJP seeks mandate for ‘Sonar Bangla’
Calling the past decade-and-a-half a “dark period”, Shah said, “these 15 years were like a nightmare for Bengal and its citizens,” alleging a breakdown of law and order.
“The vision of a Viksit Bharat is reflected in this Sankalp Patra… With great hope, the people of Bengal had given Mamata Didi a mandate to free them from communist rule… however, in these 15 years, the hopes… have not been fulfilled,” he said.
He added that the BJP has “secured trust as an opposition” over the past decade and is now the principal opposition in the Assembly.
“In last 10 years, BJP has secured trust as an opposition… Today we are working as the main opposition party in the Bengal Assembly,” Shah said.
“We are assured that West Bengal will allow us to form government for next five years,” he added, saying a BJP government would deliver its vision of “Sonar Bangla” and “pave the way for Bengal’s development.”
