‘Joy Maa Kali’ pitch marks BJP’s cultural reset as PM targets Bengal polls

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has penned an open letter to the people of West Bengal, signalling a recalibrated campaign strategy by the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the crucial assembly elections. Written in Bengali and opening with the invocation ‘Joy Maa Kali’, the letter is being distributed door-to-door across the state, while a Hindi version has also been shared online.

In the letter, Modi invokes Bengal’s cultural and historical legacy, referring to figures such as Subhas Chandra Bose and Syama Prasad Mukherjee, while asserting that the state needs a “new direction”. He alleges that the ruling All India Trinamool Congress government has presided over under-development, claiming the people of ‘shonar Bangla’ have been “cheated”. “The men, women and children of my dream of Sonar Bangla are today facing extreme deprivation,” Modi wrote, adding that he has taken a pledge to transform West Bengal into a prosperous state. The letter criticises the government led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing it of neglecting governance and failing to address key concerns of the public.

The repeated use of ‘Joy Maa Kali’ marks a departure from the BJP’s earlier campaign greeting of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ in Bengal. The shift, along with references to ‘Joy Maa Durga’, is being seen as an effort to align the party’s messaging with Bengal’s sociocultural identity. The letter also reiterates BJP allegations that the state government ignores illegal cross-border infiltration for political gains, sharpening the political contest as the polls approach.