West Bengal exit poll sparks alarm in Dhaka; Bangladesh MP fears refugee crisis if BJP wins
West Bengal Exit Poll Results 2026: The issue of migrant influx into West Bengal has dominated the assembly polls, with the BJP accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of shielding the illegal migrants for vote-bank politics.
by Zee Media Bureau · Zee NewsIn an unusual development, the West Bengal exit polls have now echoed in the Bangladesh Parliament, with Rangpur MP Akhter Hossen saying that a BJP government in Bengal could result in a refugee crisis for Dhaka. Speaking in Parliament, Member Secretary of the National Citizen Party Hossen said that the exit polls have caused a concern in the neighbouring country. Notably, Bengal shares a porous border with Bangladesh, which has continuously resulted in an influx of illegal migrants from the neighbouring country into India.
Bangladesh fears mass deportation
Speaking in the Bangladesh Parliament, Hossen said, “We are concerned. If the exit polls in West Bengal show the BJP winning, and if the BJP forms the government there, they will push all the ‘Kanglus’ into Bangladesh. This will create another major refugee crisis for us. We are worried about this.”
Notably, the ‘kanglu’ word is infamously used in Indian social media to refer to the illegal Bangladeshi migrants. ‘Kanglu’ is a derogatory slang term used for Bengali-speaking illegal Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, often living in West Bengal and other eastern Indian states.
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The broader context is longstanding India-Bangladesh tensions over illegal immigration, border fencing, and pushback operations. The issue has dominated the West Bengal polls for the last 10 years, with the BJP accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of shielding the illegal migrants for vote-bank politics.
West Bengal Exit Poll Results 2026
The West Bengal exit poll results have largely predicted the ouster of the Mamata Banerjee government while giving a clear majority to the Bharatiya Janata Party. While one exit poll gave a clear majority to the TMC, four other exit polls predicted a BJP government in the state.
While Today’s Chanakya exit poll predicted a massive victory for the BJP, others kept the numbers just around the majority mark.
Zeeinia-ICPL Exit Poll: TMC 129-145 | BJP 144-160
Matrize Exit Poll: TMC 125-140 | BJP 146-161
Janmat exit polls: TMC 195-205 | BJP 80-90 | Congress 1-3
P-Marq exit polls: TMC 118-138 | BJP 150-175
People's Pulse: TMC 177-187 | BJP 95-110 | Congress 1-3
Chanakya Strategies: TMC+ 130-140 | BJP 150-160
Today’s Chanakya: BJP 192 ± 11 | TMC+ 100 ± 11 | Others 2 ± 2 Seats
BJP, TMC on Exit Polls
Notably, both the BJP and the Trinamool Congress are in a defensive position with each party claiming to form government in the state on May 4 when the counting of votes will take place. While West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has rubbished the exit poll results, BJP leader and Union Minister Piyush Goyal has said that he is not taking the exit poll results seriously.