Kolkata: Actor-cum-politician Mithun Chakraborty has urged Hindus to come out and vote in the 2026 Assembly elections in West Bengal, to prevent a Bangladesh-like situation in the state. If anti-BJP forces continue to remain in power in West Bengal, Hindus in the state will face extinction, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award-winner said.
Mithun was speaking at a BJP meeting in New Barrackpore on Friday evening, where he asked Hindus to take pride in their Sanatani identity and actively participate in the electoral process. His comments come on the backdrop of violence at Mothabari in the Malda district of West Bengal, during which homes, shops and vehicles of Hindus were targeted. The Calcutta High Court, while hearing a plea from state Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, sought a report from the district magistrate and superintendent of police.
“I don’t know whether Hindu Bengalis will remain in West Bengal if the opposition (to the BJP) wins the election… I’m requesting Hindus to come out and vote,” he said.
Pointing to the situation in neighbouring Bangladesh, the actor said: “Nine per cent of Hindus don’t vote. I am shouting and requesting you to please come out and vote. Bangladesh has shown you a trailer. After this, whether the Hindu Bengalis remain in West Bengal is a big question. Be very careful.”
The Hindus, he claimed, are not aware of meetings held between ‘opposition’ leaders.
“You are unaware of the meetings that are taking place … meetings that I cannot discuss here. It’s the opposition. The kind of discussions at these meetings would have given you the chills. All of that will come out in the market in a few days. I am requesting the nine per cent Hindus to come out and vote. This is the fight for our existence,” Mithun said.
Barely a couple of days ago, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had been confronted by a group of students at the Kellogg College in London’s Oxford, where she was delivering a lecture. The students were protesting against the ill-treatment of Hindus in her state. Mamata had then said that her government works for the development of all people in West Bengal, including the 33% minority population.
