Kolkata: Ahead of the 2025 West Bengal assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made a controversy by appealing to the Election Commission for separate polling booths for Hindus and Muslims in minority Hindu belts. The demand follows violent protests against the Waqf Amendment Act and recently held communal clashes in Murshidabad, which have heightened tension in the state.
In the state assembly, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari (the LoP) claimed that in Muslim-dominated localities, Hindu voters are “threatened” and “terrorised”. He asked the Election Commission to establish special booths for Hindu voters in constituencies where their numbers are less than 50% so that they do not have to cross through Muslim-majority communities to cast their votes.
In those places, Hindu voters are harassed, and they are not allowed to vote, Adhikari claimed. He also appealed that Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel be deployed only at the entrances of polling booths and not inside to maintain security for voters, particularly in rural areas.
The BJP has made no bones about its criticism of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) government for allegedly not protecting Hindus from ”persecution and forcing them to vote against their will” in the state. Hitting out at the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, Adhikari said that the situation at ground zero is such that the Hindus are unable to exercise their democratic rights freely in certain places of the state.
Apart from separate polling booths, Adhikari complained to West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal, saying that he should start identifying polling stations where Hindus are in the minority. He said these polling stations need to be located in such a way that the voters do not have to go through Muslim minorities to reach them.
The BJP leader also said that she will file a memorandum soon with the Election Commission in this regard. Demanding this is part of BJP’s strategy to take the fight to the TMC government ahead of the 2025 elections, with the emphasis again on how Hindus are being discriminated against as a community in the state.
West Bengal Political Context The political landscape in West Bengal has become highly charged, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleging that the TMC is pandering to the Muslim vote bank. The criticism of the BJP comes after violent protests against the controversial Waqf Amendment Act, 2025, turned ugly, with communal clashes reported in Murshidabad and other areas of the state.