We will make BJP chant ‘Joy Bangla’ after 2026: Abhishek Banerjee at Trinamool Martyr’s Day rally

Kolkata 

Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee gave a call from the party’s annual Shahid Dibas (Martyr’s Day) celebration on July 21 and said that he will force the Bharatiya Janta Party to chant ‘Joy Bangla’ after the 2026 West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections. 

Speaking to a massive crowd at the heart of Kolkata, party second-in-command, Mr Banerjee said that the BJP will not cross 50 seats in the upcoming Assembly elections.  

Setting the election strategy and narrative tone of the party for the upcoming elections, the TMC leader said that if BJP is trying to put Bengali people speaking people in detention camps, they will go a step further and democratically put BJP in a detention camp by making them lose the elections.  

“BJP used to say Jay Shri Ram earlier but now they are saying Joy Maa Kali, Joy Maa Durga. Mark my words today—in just 10 months, I will make them say Joy Bangla after 2026 elections,” Mr Banerjee said. 

He also added that in the 2021 elections they had said “Khela hobe” (Game on) but for the 2026 elections they are saying “Poddo phool upre fela hobe” [Will rip out the lotus flower – referring to the BJP party symbol]. 

Putting emphasis on his party’s inclusive ideology, Mr Banerjee said, “We don’t do politics of religion or hatred. We maintain our religion at home, but in politics we have only one religion—humanity, to serve the people.” He accused that the Assam’s BJP-led Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has labelled Bengali-speaking people as Bangladeshis, however, the BJP government has not taken any action against his ‘discriminatory comments’. 

“Chant Joy Bangla so loudly that the echoes of the slogans reach up to Delhi,” Mr Banerjee said as supporters at the Martyr’s Day rally cheered on. 

Mr Banerjee also accused that the Union Government is using the State machinery under its power to strip the voters and opposition of their basic rights. “On one hand, BJP uses ED to suppress the Opposition leaders and on the other, they use EC to snatch away the voting rights of the people. There are two Es — Election Commission and Enforcement Directorate. They are using these two Es to put Opposition leaders behind bars and take away the voting rights of Opposition voters and normal voters of the country,” Mr Banerjee said.