Modi Invokes Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Tagore As BJP Scripts Bengal Breakthrough

“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free; Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls…; Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.” This is part of a famous poem from Rabindranath Tagore's Nobel Prize-winning collection, Gitanjali. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday invoked the same prayer to mark the historic victory of the BJP in West Bengal, with a promise that the party will give a government without fear.  PM Modi also invoked Shyama Prasad Mukherjee to frame the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) landmark victory in West Bengal as both ideological fulfilment and political turning point. 

Addressing party workers at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, Modi called the verdict “historic” and “unprecedented,” saying, “The happiness which accompanies years of penance materialising into results. I am seeing that happiness on the BJP’s workers’ faces.” He described the moment as transformative: “This evening of May 4 may be drawing to a close, but in the holy land of Bengal a new sunrise has taken place—a morning awaited for generations.”

Switching briefly to Bangla, Modi underscored the symbolic significance of the result: “Bangla e poriborton hoyeche” (there is a wave of change in Bengal now).

Invoking Tagore’s vision of a fearless India, Modi promised a shift in Bengal’s political culture. “Not bhay, but bhavishya; not badla, but badlav,” he said, adding, “For the first time, elections were free of violence. No innocent person lost their life. Not fear, but democracy has won.”

Positioning the mandate as the beginning of a new trajectory, he said, “The number of seats BJP has won is not just an electoral statistic. From today, a journey of Bengal’s future has begun where development and trust will walk hand in hand.” He assured voters that “BJP will work for the development of Bengal day and night” and declared, 

“BJP will give a fear-free Bengal—it is Modi’s guarantee.”

Paying tribute to Shyama Prasad Mukerjee, Modi said the victory would “soothe his soul.”  “Today, as a BJP karyakarta, there is something in my mind: Dr. Mukherjee had waged a big battle to keep West Bengal as part of India. The dream he had envisioned of a developed Bengal was awaiting for years to be realised,” he said.

Mukherjee, a minister in Jawaharlal Nehru government, was also the founder of Bharatiya Jan Sangh -- the body precursor to the BJP. Mukherjee is the reason the BJP says it fought so hard for Bengal. The party considers him a founding father. 

Situating the result within a broader national narrative, Modi said, “Today, more than 30 states of India have BJP-NDA governments. We are committed to the service of the people,” adding, “People have seen that BJP means good governance, they know BJP means development.” He also invoked the party’s ideological lineage: “In 1951, Syama Prasad Mookerjee had given the dictum that you have to live and die for the nation.”

Modi credited the party organisation and leadership, noting, “These were the first Assembly elections under the guidance of Nitin Nabin, and the direction each worker got was invaluable.” Thanking the cadre, he said their efforts had “scripted new history in Bengal.”

Modi said, “From Gangotri to Ganga Sagar, the lotus has bloomed everywhere,” adding, “Anga, Banga, Kalinga have chosen BJP; they have put their faith in us.” Referring to the party’s performance in Assam, he said, “Maa Kamakhya has blessed us,” linking it to a continuing electoral streak.

Outlining governance priorities, Modi said, “Women will get an atmosphere of security, the youth will get employment, migration will stop,” adding that “in the first Cabinet, Ayushman Bharat will get approval.” He also promised that “the strictest action will be taken against infiltrators.”

Taking aim at the Opposition, Modi said, “The country has made it clear that it does not want vivad, but vikas,” and added that “those who accept what has been rejected by the people will also be rejected.” On Congress, he said, “Maoism which is ending in the country is finding root in the Congress,” and argued that the party had “not learned anything” from electoral setbacks.

He also highlighted the role of women voters, saying, “Nari Shakti is a pillar of Viksit Bharat,” and claimed that parties opposing women reservation bill had been “punished by the women of this country.”

Concluding, Modi framed the verdict as part of a broader political shift. “Now there is no state where the Left rules. This shows the direction the country wants to go,” he said, adding, “Today’s India wants stability, progress, and a politics which takes the country forward.”