Border villages in WB’s Murshidabad caught in whirlpool of infiltration politics, identity fears
In this Muslim-majority region, where seven parliamentary seats lie along or near the Bangladesh border, the campaign is being driven by allegations of illegal immigration, fake identity cards and changing demographics of the region.
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The BJP accuses the ruling TMC of allowing infiltration into vote bank politics. TMC, on the other hand, claims that the BJP is using the issue to target Bengali-speaking Muslims and polarize voters.
The Congress and the Left accuse both of them of turning a troubled border into an electoral arena.
But in the villages along the riverside Bagri belt, the language of politics often sounds very different from that of life.
Border floodlights are on after dusk at Char Bhabanipur in Jalangi. Beyond the embankment, in a dark stretch of the Padma river, lies Bangladesh. There are no fences here, just the river.
In Sadikhanr Char village in Jalangi, where a narrow mud road ends at the river, 58-year-old farmer Abdul Rahim keeps his Aadhaar card, voter slip, land title and his father’s ration card in a plastic bag.
“When the security guards come to the village, they ask for documents. We have been living here for generations. But every few months, we are asked to show that we are not Bangladeshi,” he said.
Two large tracts of land of Rahim were eroded by Padma. His elder son is currently working in Kerala.
“What will infiltration provide me? In order to benefit from the government’s programs, I need to work, have a suitable set and have my name on the ration card list and voter list,” he said.
The Bangladesh border in Murshidabad district stretches for more than 125 km. The river is the boundary at various places in Jalangi, Bhagabangola and Lalgola.
Between January and November 2025, the number of infiltration attempts along the Indo-Bangladesh border increased from 977 in 2024 to 1,104, according to government data presented to Parliament in December.
During the same period, 2,556 people were arrested; this figure is only slightly higher than the 2,525 arrests in 2024. Since 2014, 8,632 infiltration attempts and 21,407 arrests have been recorded.
The data also revealed the extent of the fencing problem. Of the 4,096 km India-Bangladesh border, only 3,239 km or 79.08 percent has been fenced so far. Approximately 857 kilometers of area remains unfenced.
Sharing a 2,217-kilometer border with Bangladesh, West Bengal accounts for more than half of the international border.
For the BJP, these figures have become a campaign weapon. Senior party leaders alleged that undocumented immigrants were settled in Murshidabad and other areas through political patronage.
The party claims that around 450 km of the Bangladeshi border in West Bengal is not fenced because the TMC government has not provided land to help “infiltrators” who will eventually become the ruling party’s vote bank.
“Murshidabad is changing because TMC is allowing infiltration for votes. People want strong borders, proper identification and an end to illegal entry,” said Gouri Shankar Ghosh, district president of BJP. he said.
The BJP has repeatedly argued that illegal immigration from Bangladesh has changed the demography of Murshidabad, Malda, North Dinajpur and parts of North 24 Parganas.
The TMC rejects the accusation as an attempt to polarize a Muslim-majority region.
TMC MP Abu Taher said, “They call every poor Muslim a spy. BJP wants people to forget about unemployment and price increase. They want fear to become the main issue.”
However, after the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls, the feeling of uneasiness deepened in the villages.
Murshidabad achieved the third highest number of deletions in the state with more than 7.48 lakh names being deleted.
The harshest impact was in Samserganj, where approximately 92,000 names disappeared from the lists. In neighboring Lalgola, around 69,000 names were deleted, while in Bhagabangola, the figure is around 58,000.
In Kalmegha village of Lalgola, 70-year-old Ashfak Molla said that although he has voted in every election since the 1980s, his wife’s name is not included in the voter rolls.
“We went to the office three times with the documents. They say ‘Come back later’. Now people are afraid. If your name disappears, others will start asking questions,” he said.
Many Muslims across Murshidabad say talk of infiltration leaves them feeling constantly under suspicion. “Close the border, save Bengal” read a BJP poster near the bus stand in Jalangi market.
A few meters away, a TMC banner accused the saffron party of branding every Bengali-speaking Muslim as a spy.
Residents say the lack of a border fence has also created a twilight economy of cattle smuggling, narcotics, counterfeit currency and people moving along the river at night.
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“Everyone knows what’s happening here. The cows are leaving, the ganja is coming, sometimes it’s cough syrup, sometimes it’s people. But no one wants to talk openly,” said a tea stall owner.
Congress and Left leaders say both the BJP and TMC are using the border to avoid talking about poverty, migration and the collapse of agriculture.
CPI(M) district secretary Jamir Molla said, “Thousands of boys from these villages are working in Kerala, Delhi and Bengaluru because there is no work here. The river eats away at the soil every year. But the election is only about infiltration and SIR.” he said.
