Hakimpur reverse migration sparks political firestorm ahead of West Bengal 2026 polls

A steady trickle of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh returning to their country through West Bengal's Hakimpur border has turned into a major political flashpoint, intensifying BJP-TMC hostilities over infiltration, contested voter rolls, and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise ahead of the 2026 assembly elections.

What began as a quiet, almost unnoticed return of immigrants has now evolved into a symbolic political spectacle, recasting the border outpost into an ideological battlefield where visuals carry more weight than numbers.

At the India-Bangladesh border in Bongaon, North 24 Parganas, locals and security personnel reported a surge of undocumented Bangladeshis attempting to walk back home since early November, after the SIR of electoral rolls began. Border Security Force (BSF) officials said around 150-200 people are returning daily, with about 1,700 having crossed by November 20.

For the BJP, the visuals of people carrying small bags and children towards the zero line are being used to substantiate its claim of illegal immigration to West Bengal.

State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said that it is being indicated that the SIR has rattled infiltrators. The truth is finally coming out. They are leaving because they fear detection. BJP spokesperson Keya Ghosh added that the reverse movement of Bangladeshis strengthens our narrative beyond doubt, and sought to explain that even 5,000 deletions prove our point. She further remarked that many who came earlier already have voter cards. TMC leaders helped them regularise documents over the years.

The ruling TMC, however, has branded the episode as an orchestrated exercise aimed at legitimising what it calls a coercive and politically motivated SIR. A senior TMC MP claimed that there is nothing organic about Hakimpur... This is staged optics designed to build a narrative before 2026 and justify SIR.

TMC spokesperson Krishanu Mitra alleged political collusion, asking, Were these infiltrators waiting at the no-man's land for the BSF to open the gates and give journalists daily confessions? He also questioned, If they are illegal immigrants, why is there not a single arrest? Why no crackdown on touts? Mitra argued that the exercise aims only to prove the credibility of the SIR and justify BJP's infiltration narrative ahead of the polls.

Local TMC leaders said that the immigrants leaving are mostly poor workers, brick kiln laborers, masons, and domestic helpers who panicked at the prospect of door-to-door verification, many having lived for years on fake Aadhaar cards or forged voter IDs.

Political scientist Biswanath Chakraborty acknowledged that infiltration exists but dismissed claims that it would electorally benefit the BJP. He noted that four to five thousand people going back does not justify wild claims of 50 lakh or 1 crore deletions. Chakraborty added that the SIR is likely to remain a paperwork exercise, with only minor removals having little impact on electoral politics.

Nevertheless, for both parties, the scenes from Hakimpur have become political capital. Every returning immigrant is being treated as a symbol of vindication for the BJP and of manufactured panic for the TMC. Images circulate widely through WhatsApp groups, IT-cell campaigns, and district meetings, shaping public perceptions far beyond the border.

A BJP district leader described the visuals as a potent tool to mobilize cadre and consolidate border-district voters, while a senior TMC leader countered that the images are merely a preview of the political script BJP will deploy fear, distrust and identity politics.

Political analyst Suman Bhattacharya warned that the current optics may not translate into electoral gains for the BJP and could backfire given anger over SIR-linked deaths across West Bengal. He asked, If you want to identify 2,500 infiltrators, how do you justify 50 or more deaths of your own citizens, including BLOs who were doing their duty?

The TMC has claimed that 41 people, including BLOs, have died, some allegedly by suicide, since the SIR process begana charge the BJP has dismissed as baseless and politically motivated.

In West Bengal's charged electoral climate, where narrative often outruns fact, the reverse migration at Hakimpur is expected to shape the 2026 election discourse as deeply as the SIR itself.