The BJP has consistently framed illegal immigration from Bangladesh as both a demographic and security challenge. The party now has greater administrative capacity to pursue tighter enforcement of the 4,000km land border India shares with Bangladesh (more than half of which is in West Bengal), as well as citizenship verification measures and anti-infiltration operations.
In West Bengal, the BJP victory has accelerated long-pending efforts to expand border infrastructure. The state’s chief minister said on May 27 that about 57 hectares of land had been transferred to the Border Security Force for fencing projects. Additional land has been allocated around the strategically important Siliguri Corridor, the narrow stretch connecting mainland India to its northeastern states.
It remains to be seen how New Delhi navigates its ties with the new regime in Dhaka when there are heightened sensitivities on both sides of the border, but there is no doubt that the BJP’s consolidation along India’s eastern border will shape South Asia’s strategic landscape in the years ahead.
Across the world, democracies are witnessing the fusion of charismatic leadership, welfare populism and majoritarian politics into durable electoral coalitions. The West Bengal electoral results suggest India may now be moving more firmly in that direction.
As economic anxieties deepen and global instability grows, the consequences of this political order in the world’s largest democracy will extend far beyond India itself.
Rahul Verma is a Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), New Delhi. The views expressed are personal.
