By Jayanta Ghosal
After the change of regime in West Bengal, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has remained consistently proactive on the issue of infiltration along the Indo-Bangladesh border. In fact, during the Assembly election campaign, the issue of “ghospetia”, or illegal infiltrators, had become one of the BJP’s central political themes in Bengal. The party repeatedly argued that unchecked infiltration was not only altering the demographic balance in border districts but was also linked to security concerns, corruption networks, smuggling, and illegal documentation rackets.
Now, immediately after coming to power, Suvendu Adhikari appears determined to send a strong political message that his government intends to act on the promises it made during the campaign. In many ways, he wants to project that for him, “a commitment is a commitment.” The phrase almost echoes Salman Khan’s famous film dialogue — “Once I make a commitment, I don’t even listen to myself.” Politically, that sentiment now seems to be shaping Suvendu Adhikari’s own public posture on the border issue.
That is why the Chief Minister has chosen to move aggressively and visibly on the matter from the very beginning of his tenure. During his recent visit to Delhi, he met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and discussed border infrastructure, land allocation, and coordination with central agencies. The West Bengal government has already initiated the transfer of land required for fencing and BSF-related infrastructure, while the Centre has assured financial and logistical support for strengthening border management.
As a result, border security is now being projected as a coordinated Centre-State exercise under the so-called “double-engine government” model. The state government is facilitating land and administrative clearances, while the Centre is pushing security infrastructure, fencing, surveillance systems, and deployment mechanisms through the BSF and the Home Ministry.
At the same time, the Narendra Modi government is also conscious of the diplomatic dimension of the issue. The Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of External Affairs do not want border enforcement measures to unnecessarily damage India’s relationship with Bangladesh, which remains one of India’s most important strategic neighbours in South Asia. Dhaka continues to play a critical role in regional connectivity, trade, security cooperation, and India’s larger geopolitical strategy in the eastern corridor.
This is where Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s role becomes particularly significant. Shah is trying to maintain a careful balance between two parallel priorities. On one side, there is intense domestic political pressure to crack down on infiltration and strengthen border security. Simultaneously, there is a need to ensure that enforcement measures do not trigger avoidable diplomatic friction with Bangladesh.
Officials say the Centre’s current strategy reflects that balancing act. The approach is being designed not merely around aggressive “pushback” operations but around structured identification, documentation, legal procedures, and coordinated handling through institutional channels wherever possible.
Now, politically, Suvendu Adhikari wants to establish that his administration is serious about implementation, not just rhetoric. For the BJP in Bengal, the infiltration issue is no longer only an election slogan; it has now become a test of governance, administrative credibility, and ideological positioning.
