West Bengal has voted out Mamata Banerjee, and one of the key drivers behind this electoral outcome is the issue of Bangladeshi illegal immigrants, a porous border, and shifting demographics. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) campaigned on the argument that Mamata Banerjee allowed too many people to cross the 4,096-kilometer border that India cannot fully seal.
BSF's Crocodile Solution
In an internal communication dated March 26, the Border Security Force (BSF) ordered personnel to explore deploying crocodiles in riverine gaps along the border. This darkly absurd policy underscores the complexity of managing the border.
Complex Bilateral Relationship
Beneath this lies a genuinely complex bilateral relationship. Bangladesh's new Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government wants to reset ties, with its foreign minister making New Delhi his first overseas destination. Bangladesh relies on India's diesel via the Friendship Pipeline, while India needs Bangladesh to keep China away from the Chicken's Neck corridor. Neither country can afford to let the relationship collapse, yet neither has figured out how to fix it.
This is the full story of India's most complicated neighbor.
