In Kolkata, Mamata Banerjee, and the TMC, women in West Bengal have been a crucial support base for nearly 15 years. The BJP aims to win over Bengal's women to gain power.
The BJP has unveiled a manifesto focusing on cash transfers, welfare promises, and safety measures exclusively for women. In a bid to challenge the TMC's most reliable electoral base, the saffron party is aiming to make the 2026 assembly elections a direct contest over who can best protect, empower, and support women in Bengal.
At the core of this strategy is Union Home Minister Amit Shah's promise that every woman in Bengal will receive ₹3,000 per month if the BJP comes to power.
Shah stated in Kolkata that every mother in Bengal would receive ₹3,000, along with free travel on state-run buses and 33% reservation for women in all government jobs, including the police.
This message is directed at the constituency that has repeatedly supported the TMC, even during periods of anti-incumbency, corruption allegations, or rural discontent.
Women constitute nearly half of West Bengal's electorate, and in recent elections, they have voted in larger numbers than men. Political observers have long argued that the increased women's turnout and the popularity of welfare schemes like Lakshmir Bhandar have been key to Mamata Banerjee's electoral success.
Just last month, the TMC increased Lakshmir Bhandar assistance by ₹500, raising the monthly payout to ₹1,500 for women from general categories and ₹1,700 for SC and ST women.
The BJP's offer of ₹3,000, almost double the revised amount, is seen as an attempt to make the election about providing security, dignity, and economic support.
However, the BJP is not relying solely on welfare. The party believes that beneath the loyalty of Bengal's women voters, there is also a sense of anger and anxiety, particularly after a series of incidents over the past two years.
The unrest in Sandeshkhali in 2024, where several women accused local TMC leaders of intimidation and sexual abuse, followed by the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, triggered widespread outrage, and drew thousands of women to the streets, reopening the debate about whether women in Bengal still feel safe.
The BJP has sought to connect these two incidents to a larger political narrative: that while the TMC speaks of women's empowerment, it has failed to ensure women's safety.
Shah's manifesto repeatedly emphasized the themes of "respect," "protection," and "fear-free living."
For women's safety, the BJP promised a women-only "Durga Surokha Squad" for patrolling. They also announced separate self-defence training units, at least one women's police station in every block, and a women's help desk in every police station.
The party promised two all-women battalions in the State Reserve Police Force, named after Matangini Hazra and Rani Rashmoni, in addition to 33% reservation for women in all government jobs.
They also offered a wide welfare package: ₹21,000 and six nutrition kits for pregnant women from poor families, ₹50,000 for girls enrolling in graduation courses, free HPV vaccination for girls and women under 40, and free breast cancer screening for economically weaker women over 40.
Other promises include working women's hostels in every district, increased honorariums for anganwadi, ASHA, and animal welfare workers, measures to prevent child marriage, and the creation of 75 lakh "Lakhpati Didis".
This focus on women comes at a time when the electorate has seen a fresh political twist.
Before the revision, West Bengal had 959 women voters for every 1,000 men. After the revision, the figure dropped to 950.
Although the decline appears marginal, analysts say even a small reduction in the number of women electors could matter in tightly contested seats, particularly when women have been the TMC's most dependable constituency.
The BJP has gained support among urban voters and large parts of north Bengal, but it has repeatedly struggled to match the TMC's advantage among women, especially in rural Bengal.
That is why the BJP's 2026 campaign appears designed not merely to attack the TMC, but to enter the emotional and political space that Mamata Banerjee has occupied for over a decade.
If Lakshmir Bhandar was the foundation of the TMC's hold over Bengal's women, the BJP is now trying to build a rival edifice: one resting equally on money, jobs, and the promise of safety.
The battle for Bengal's women, once seen as firmly settled, may now emerge as the defining undercurrent of an election in which the BJP is trying to prise open the TMC's strongest bastion and redraw Bengal's political map.
