News Brief
Hindu Groups, BJP To Set Up 700 CAA Camps To Fast-Track Citizenship Applications For Refugees In Bengal’s Border Districts Ahead Of 2026 Polls
Post-Festival CAA Camps in West Bengal Aim to Woo Refugee Voters (X)
West Bengal is set to witness at least 700 camps dedicated to Citizenship Amendment Act applications across nine districts bordering Bangladesh following Diwali and Kalipuja celebrations.
The camps, organised by various Sanatan Hindu organisations alongside West Bengal BJP leadership, represent an intensified push to boost CAA application momentum ahead of the 2026 assembly elections, according to a Economic Times report.
The initiative targets districts along the Bangladesh border, where significant populations of Hindu refugees and their descendants reside.
These border constituencies have emerged as crucial electoral battlegrounds, with the Matua community and other refugee groups forming a substantial vote bank.
The BJP has launched CAA help desks in parts of the state, facilitating citizenship applications in what party functionaries describe as the most aggressive outreach initiative to woo refugee voters.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has consistently opposed the CAA, arguing it is linked to the National Register of Citizens and warning against what she terms detention camps.
Her Trinamool Congress has made the opposition to CAA a key part of its political strategy, framing it as a threat to Bengali identity.
