Kolkata, March 14 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday addressed West Bengal’s women and youth, promising safety, employment, and an end to the "culture of taking money" and "dictatorial rule," while declaring that a "revolution" for a new Bengal has begun.
Speaking at a large rally at the iconic Brigade Parade Ground, Modi aimed to engage two of the state's most important electoral groups – women and young voters – ahead of the 2026 assembly elections, accusing the ruling TMC of presiding over lawlessness, corruption, and the mass migration of young people.
"The TMC government protects rapists and criminals; the Sandeshkhali and RG Kar incidents are proof of this. Acid attacks on women have increased in West Bengal. In today's Bengal, criminals have free rein, and the safety of mothers and sisters is at risk," he said.
"I assure the mothers and sisters of Bengal that if you support the BJP, women will be safe and criminals will be in jail. This is my guarantee," he added.
Launching a strong attack on the Mamata Banerjee government, Modi alleged that crimes against women had increased under TMC rule, citing incidents like those in Sandeshkhali and the RG Kar rape and murder case as examples of what he described as a "breakdown of law and order."
"This land is for Shakti. This cannot happen here," he said.
Claiming that "change is written on the walls of Bengal," the prime minister said public anger against the ruling party's "dictatorial rule" was growing across the state.
The prime minister also emphasized the historical significance of the Brigade ground, saying that this same venue had witnessed movements that shaped the country's political destiny.
"The voice raised against the British regime from this field turned into a revolution across Hindustan. Today, once again, the call for a 'revolution' for a new Bengal has been sounded from Brigade Ground," Modi said.
Women voters, who constitute nearly half of West Bengal's electorate, have increasingly turned out in larger numbers than men in recent elections, emerging as a decisive constituency that parties are keen to win over.
According to Election Commission data following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the number of women voters in the state is around 3.44 crore out of the total 7.04 crore electorate, highlighting their growing political influence.
"The end of 'dictatorial rule' in Bengal is inevitable. From every corner of the state, one voice is rising – 'Come, BJP government, this time we will win'," Modi said.
The PM also focused extensively on the plight of young people in the state, expressing concern over "large-scale exodus of young people" in search of employment.
"Decades of misrule by Congress, CPI(M), and TMC have pushed Bengal's economy into decline while those in power have enriched themselves through corruption," Modi alleged.
Referring to recruitment scams that have rocked the state, he said that the future of many deserving young people had been destroyed because "jobs were sold through corruption".
"The TMC government has inflicted the curse of exodus upon Bengal's youth. They deserve transparency, opportunity, and dignity. The future belongs to the young generation that will transform this state," he said, adding that the BJP would create opportunities so that young people would not have to leave Bengal for work.
The prime minister also accused the TMC government of running what he called a "culture of taking money" that had blocked central welfare schemes from reaching the poor.
"These TMC people will neither work themselves nor allow others to work. Until they get the cut money, they do not allow schemes to reach the villages or the poor...a few days back, a potato farmer committed suicide due to anti-people policies of the TMC," he alleged.
His outreach to women and youth comes at a time when these two segments are emerging as key electoral groups in the run-up to the 2026 assembly polls.
Highlighting the Centre's welfare programmes, Modi referred to initiatives such as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission, and Ayushman Bharat, saying they were aimed at providing housing, tap water, and free healthcare to the poor.
He also mentioned the PM Vishwakarma Yojana, which supports traditional artisans, and the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, under which households can generate solar power and reduce electricity bills.
Modi claimed that several central schemes were not reaching tea garden workers and other vulnerable communities because the state government had failed to implement them properly.
Invoking Bengal's rich intellectual and nationalist legacy, the prime minister said the BJP aimed to rebuild the state envisioned by luminaries such as Ramakrishna Paramahansa, Swami Vivekananda, Subhas Chandra Bose, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Rabindranath Tagore, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Khudiram Bose, and Syama Prasad Mukherjee.
"The blessings of Mahishasura Mardini are with the BJP and the NDA. We will build and reconstruct that Bengal which the great personalities dreamt of," he said.
Modi also alleged that the state administration had tried to obstruct people from attending the rally by shutting down bridges and removing BJP posters.