NEW DELHI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari shared a warm moment during the swearing-in ceremony of the Assam government, which also subtly referenced a common concern of both states: infiltration.
Photos posted by Suvendu Adhikari on X showed the two BJP leaders hugging and laughing at the event, highlighting the camaraderie between key party figures in the eastern region.
The interaction became a talking point after Himanta Biswa Sarma made a playful remark directed at Adhikari, saying: “Bad days for....(You know who).” Adhikari responded in the same vein, writing: “No Prizes for Guessing, I guess,” followed by a smiling emoji, in an apparent swipe at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee without naming her directly.
This moment comes at a time when both Assam and West Bengal have increasingly framed infiltration as a major political and administrative issue. Sarma has consistently positioned Assam’s crackdown on illegal immigration as central to his government’s agenda, while Adhikari, after becoming West Bengal Chief Minister, has sharpened the BJP government’s rhetoric around border security, demographic changes, and alleged cross-border infiltration. The public camaraderie between the two leaders appears to be an attempt to project a coordinated eastern regional narrative around national security and identity politics.
The interaction also highlighted the growing political alignment between the BJP governments in Assam and West Bengal, with both leaders increasingly presenting themselves as key faces of the party’s campaign against infiltration in eastern India.
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