AIIMS, IIT and IIM establishment promised by BJP in north Bengal if voted to power
Telegraph | 12 April 2026
The BJP on Friday made a slew of promises for north Bengal, where the party had outperformed the Trinamool Congress in the 2021 Assembly elections.
Union home minister Amit Shah, who published the “Sankalpa Patra” or the election manifesto of the BJP in Calcutta, said if the party was voted to power, five major institutions would be set up in the region.
“We will set up an AIIMS, an IIT, an IIM, and a fashion institute in north Bengal, a region which has been neglected for years. A cancer hospital will also be built there,” said Shah.
In 2021, the BJP had bagged 30 of 54 Assembly seats in north Bengal. Trinamool had won 23 seats. Out of eight Lok Sabha seats in the region, six are held by the BJP.
In the manifesto, the BJP elaborated on its plans for the tea industry, given that the tea population determines the results of 10 to 12 Assembly seats in north Bengal.
“A scientific replanting scheme would be adapted to rejuvenate the tea estates and will stress the production of organic and environment-friendly teas. There will be strict monitoring of the GI tag, and steps will be taken to stop the selling of other teas as Darjeeling tea. A special tea export centre would be developed to boost the export of Darjeeling tea,” reads the manifesto.
The BJP has promised to set up small tea processing centres and a tea research and innovation centre.
“Steps would be taken to fix the minimum wages for tea workers, and a separate development board would be constituted for them. The tea workers will also get land rights,” says the manifesto.
Promises are aplenty for the tourism industry that employs lakhs of people in north Bengal. The BJP promised to develop Darjeeling as a destination of eco-adventure and heritage tourism and promote north Bengal as an international destination for tea tourism.
For the hill people, the BJP has reiterated its promise for a “permanent political solution”.
“Considering the sentiments of the hill residents, a permanent political solution for the hills, which will be within the purview of the Indian Constitution, will be explored,” said the manifesto.
The Sankalpa Patra said steps would be taken for the constitutional recognition of the Rajbanshi and Kurmali languages.
“The BJP wants to ride on the infrastructural card and simultaneously draw support from the tea belt and different communities,” said a political observer.
Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee sought to counter the BJP’s promises.
“They have not reopened a single tea estate in north Bengal. What have they done for the tea workers so far? In February, the then chief secretary wrote to the Union home minister, seeking constitutional recognition of the Rajbanshi and Kurmali languages. But the Centre has not acted so far. Now, they are making lengthy promises,” he said.