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NEW DELHI, Jan 27, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 
closest political ally has pledged to rid the capital of "illegal' immigrants 
if his party wins looming elections, in a forceful appeal to his party's 
Hindu constituency.

Interior minister Amit Shah said every unlawful migrant from neighbouring 
Bangladesh would be expelled from New Delhi "within two years" if his party 
succeeded in next month's provincial polls.

"The current state government is giving space to illegal Bangladeshis and 
Rohingyas," Shah told an audience of several thousand at Sunday's rally.

"Change the government and we will rid Delhi of all illegals."

India shares a porous border stretching thousands of kilometres with Muslim-
majority Bangladesh, and illegal migration from its eastern neighbour has 
been a hot-button political issue for decades.

There are no reliable estimates of the number of Bangladeshis living 
illegally in Delhi, a city to which millions have flocked in search of 
employment from elsewhere in India over recent decades.

Critics of Modi and Shah's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accuse the party of 
using the issue as a dog whistle against Muslims to galvanise its Hindu-
nationalist support base during elections.

Delhi, a sprawling megacity home to more than 30 million people, has been 
governed for most of the past decade by charismatic chief minister Arvind 
Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Kejriwal rode to power as an anti-corruption crusader a decade ago and his 
profile has bestowed upon him the mantle of one of the chief rivals to Modi 
and Shah's party.

His popularity has been burnished by extensive water and electricity 
subsidies for the capital's millions of poorer residents.

But he spent several months behind bars last year on accusations his party 
took kickbacks in exchange for liquor licences, along with several fellow 
party leaders.

Kejriwal denies wrongdoing and characterised the charges as a political 
witch-hunt by Modi's government, and despite resigning as chief minister last 
year vowed to return to the office if his party won re-election.

The BJP has led a spirited campaign in its efforts to dislodge Kejriwal's 
party ahead of the February 5 vote.

Modi is expected to make a pilgrimage to the ongoing Kumbh Mela, the biggest 
festival on the Hindu calendar, to bathe in the sacred Ganges river on the 
day of the Delhi assembly vote.

Results of the election will be published on February 8.