Return of Bangladeshis from West Bengal sharpens infiltration narrative months before assembly polls

HAKIMPUR (WB): (Nov 30) A steady trickle of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh returning to their country through the international border in West Bengal's Hakimpur has morphed into a political flashpoint, sharpening BJP-TMC hostilities over infiltration, contested voter rolls and the Election Commission's high-stakes SIR exercise months before the 2026 assembly polls.

What began as a quiet, almost unnoticed return of immigrants has now turned into a symbolic political spectacle, recasting the border outpost into an ideological battlefield where visuals matter more than numbers.

The reverse movement, numerically small but visually potent, has swiftly been weaponised by both sides.