NEW DELHI: With a day to go for the first of the two-phase Assembly elections in West Bengal, uncertainty hangs heavy over the minds of thousands of migrant Bengali voters returning home. In Delhi, where the summer heat is already unforgiving, the Bengali diaspora finds itself caught in a swirl of urgency and skepticism. Many remain unconvinced that any political change will meaningfully alter their lives.
“Doesn’t matter who comes to power; neither TMC nor BJP cares for me,” says Baheri Bala, a domestic worker who travels to Kolkata once a year to see her children. This time, her visit is driven by the need to vote, particularly in the wake of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Bala says her own documentation process was smooth despite living in Delhi, though some of her peers have complained about deletions. Unfamiliar with her constituency or candidates, she leans towards the BJP, hoping it might help her secure a house.
For others, the motivation to vote is shaped as much by fear as by aspiration. Shibani, a domestic worker in Delhi for 11 years, is returning home to Nandigram to vote. She credits the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana for helping her acquire a home. But her decision to vote now is driven by anxiety.
“There is a fear of being designated Bangladeshis. The vote will cement our hold over our land. We don’t want to be struck off the voters’ rolls,” she says.
Among younger migrants in the capital, the desire for “change” is widely felt, though not uniformly defined. Some see the current government as flawed but still preferable, while others point to the absence of a credible opposition, noting that many BJP leaders were once part of the ruling party.
Renee, a hairdresser from Kalimpong, says her husband is travelling back to vote because “it’s in the air that this time, if you don’t vote, you will not be able to get back.” With land and a home in Kalimpong, the stakes are personal. Her family is influenced by national leadership narratives, but she remains uncertain about the overall outcome. “The state belongs to Mamata Banerjee, and BJP is divisive and is coming on strongly this time,” she says.
Students and first-time voters echo concerns that go beyond party lines. Many say they have never witnessed such levels of communal tension growing up. They point to declining educational and healthcare infra and a political climate marked by violence. For them, the desire is simple: change—regardless of which party delivers it—so long as it restores stability and governance.
Achiranghsu, a PhD student registered in Malda, describes the escalation in election-related violence as “too much to handle”. Having seen the constituency shift across political parties over the years, since the days of Ghani Khan Chaudhary and then the Left, he now observes a new phase marked by the BJP’s incentives and social media-driven narratives. “Some might slam the syndicate politics of TMC, but it is much better than a party that engages in hate-mongering,” he says, highlighting what he sees as a lack of real choice.
The narrative around “infiltration” has also left a deep imprint. Risabh, a third-generation Bengali in Delhi, questions the selective framing of safety. “If one incident shakes you, others should too,” he says, adding that accountability must be demanded from all parties, regardless of who is in power.
Organisations working with migrant labourers note a surge in workers returning home to vote, often driven by fears of losing citizenship status or voting rights. Vinod Kumar from India SME Forum, however, points out that this movement coincides with an LPG crisis in Delhi, making motivations harder to isolate.
For many, the deeper concern is cultural. Sruti, a PhD aspirant, says that in her 24 years, she has never seen politics in Bengal revolve around religion or caste. “We grew up celebrating everything together,” she says.
Among young Bengalis, there is also a growing unease that the churn in politics is beginning to reshape not just governance, but the state’s cultural fabric. Known for its long tradition of debate, literature and coexistence, Bengal, they feel, is shifting in ways that are difficult to ignore.