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From the spirited discussions on ‘Vande Mataram’ in the Lok Sabha, it was there for all to see the fight for West Bengal between the BJP and the ruling TMC
PM Narendra Modi speaks in the Lok Sabha during a discussion on the 150th anniversary of National Song, ‘Vande Mataram’, at the winter session of Parliament in New Delhi on December 8, 2025. (Image: Sansad TV/PTI)
Be it Bankim ‘Da’ or Bankim ‘Babu’, the Parliament discussion on Vande Mataram brings into focus one important upcoming event: the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections. And the BJP and Trinamool Congress have decided to make the Lok Sabha their battleground.
From the spirited discussions on Vande Mataram in the Lok Sabha, it was there for all to see the fight for West Bengal between the BJP and the ruling TMC.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi traced the origin of Vande Mataram, India’s National Song that completed 150 years, and elaborated on how the Congress under Jawaharlal Nehru allegedly truncated its lyrics for the purpose of “appeasement” politics.
The TMC, however, knew that it had to be part of this debate, which is why its MPs decided to speak in Bangla. “We know for sure that the PM’s attempt to use the Vande Mataram debate as a launchpad for Bengal polls will just not work,” a top TMC leader told News18.
Hence, the repeated interruptions coming from the TMC. For example, TMC MP Saugata Roy objected to Vande Mataram writer Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay being referred to as dada by Modi. He said he should be addressed as Bankim babu, which the Prime Minister accepted.
The TMC does not want to concede even an inch to the BJP in this ferocious battle for Bengal even as the saffron party breathes down its neck, or targets its INDIA bloc ally Congress. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already faced the BJP’s ‘Jai Shri Ram’ onslaught and been accused of minority appeasement.
Sources in the TMC said the issue of ‘Bankim Da versus Bankim Babu’ will be taken to the people of Bengal to make a point that Modi has scant regard for state icons and their legacy. And when Union culture minister Gajendra Shekhawat called him “Bankim Das” in a purported error, the TMC got its opportunity to go full throttle, calling him “arrogant” and “anti-Bengal”.
In the previous Bengal election, the TMC had called the PM and the entire BJP “outsider”, who could never understand the language of Bengal. This time around, however, as the BJP reworks its strategy to be seen as an “insider” and with Modi giving credit to Bankim Chandra and other Bengal icons, the TMC is hopeful that this debate works in their favour. But for the BJP, it looks like the fight for the Bankim Chandra’s legacy and Vande Mataram is all for Bengal.
Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google. December 08, 2025, 18:57 IST
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