New Delhi, Feb. 23 -- In poll-bound Assam and West Bengal, where the BJP has pivoted its election campaign towards ethnicity, identity and illegal immigrants, the party cadre has been cautioned against overlooking issues related to development, employment and economy, which have a wider resonance among the electorate, said people aware of the matter. The BJP seeks a third term in Assam after decisive victories in 2016 and 2021. In West Bengal, the party aims to unseat the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government after winning 77 seats (now 64) of the 294 seats in 2021. While senior leaders, including Union home minister Amit Shah, have raised issues of language, identity and illegal immigrants across both states, development remains central to the campaign, said people aware of the matter. The party's ideological fount, the RSS, has cautioned against opting for a strictly polarising election narrative. The push to recalibrate in Assam followed a controversial social media post depicting CM Himanta Biswa Sarma targeting members of a particular community. The post sparked uproar, was deleted, and the BJP removed the responsible social media team member. Opposition parties branded it communal. Congress leader KC Venugopal posted on X calling it a "call for genocide". The RSS and some party leaders worry about alienating Assamese- and Bengali-speaking Muslims, risking the states' social fabric and poll outcomes, said a BJP leader, on condition of anonymity. "While there is no ambiguity in our stand on the issue of illegal immigrants, there is a need to demarcate the ghuspathiyas (illegal settlers) from the ethnic Muslims of the state." said the leader. The Sangh leadership is said to have suggested forging closer ties with the ethnic Muslims in Assam and Bengal for the campaign against illegal settlers. While in Assam, the Sangh and a section of leaders want the infrastructure development to be showcased, in Bengal, they want the focus on corruption and administrative deficiencies of the TMC government....