While BJP president Amit Shah has fervently defended the proposed implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in phases and the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress has opposed these proposals vehemently.

After becoming a big poll issue in Assam and the North-East, NRC and the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill has turned out to be a core issue in at least seven constituencies in West Bengal, which has porous borders with Bangladesh and Nepal.

Addressing a rally in Kalimpong on Thursday, which falls in the Darjeeling constituency, Shah said, “The Modi government will ensure that the refugees who have come to India get the citizenship of this country. The NRC is targeted to identify infiltrators, which are a cause of worry for national security, and throw them out of the country. The Modi government will never compromise India’s security”.

Darjeeling, for long, has been one of the safest seats for the BJP and so far, with its alliance with the GJM and an assurance to look into the prospect of a potential Gorkhaland, the party didn’t face any challenge whatsoever in the past 10 years. However, the TMC has been able to gain a hold in this constituency in the recent past.

While the BJP, in its manifesto has laid the objective to implement NRC, the ethnic Gorkhas, Tamang, Lepchas and others in Darjeeling, the tribal-origin minorities and refugees from Bangladesh in Coochbehar and Alipurduar and some Hindus and Muslims alike in border areas in Malda, and North and South Dinajpur constituencies are perturbed.

According to the Gorkhas, their names must be included in the NRC as they claim to have come to India in accordance with political arrangements and have not migrated. Historically, the area which today comprises Kalimpong, Darjeeling and the surrounding areas, was part of Sikkim, which was annexed by Bhutan in 1706. Later, the Treaty of Sinchula in 1865 between the British and Bhutan resulted in this area becoming part of the Bengal Presidency and its final accession to India at the time of independence.

Incidentally, while the BJP is vying to retain the Darjeeling seat, Mamata has put her best foot forward to wrestle control from the BJP.

On Friday, even as the nearby constituencies of Coochbehar and Alipurduar went to polls, Shah and Mamata, both campaigned in Darjeeling to bag votes for their respective candidates.

In her address at a rally in the prime Chowk Bazaar area in Darjeeling, Mamata claimed, “We were the only ones to oppose the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill when it was tabled and the Modi government wasn’t able to pass it. Now if they return to power, they will pass this Bill”.

She alleged that under this Amendment, citizens marked as refugees will lose their voting rights and certain other rights for a period of five years and thereafter will lie at the mercy of the government.

“Under NRC, they will decide who will stay and who will leave”, Mamata furthered.

Shah is aiming for BJP's ascent to power in West Bengal in the 2021 state elections.

While Shah prioritised national security as one of the key objectives of the BJP, Mamata hit back at Shah claiming that under Modi’s rule, terrorism had increased as compared to previous regimes.

Expressing his confidence that Modi will return back to power, Shah said, “We would remove Article 370 from Kashmir after Modi returns to power”.

The aforesaid Article gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir and Shah’s claim over this Article has also been reiterated in the 2019 BJP manifesto.