Mumbai, April 23 : Actress Puja Banerjee, who predominantly works in television, has spoken up on the current situation of West Bengal as the state prepares to go into phase 1 of polling.

On Wednesday, the actress took to her Instagram, and shared a video of herself, as she spoke about the problem of migration in the state in the absence of industries that could support the youth.

She said, â??Bengal's youth is leaving Bengal not by choice. This isn't migration, it's compulsion. Every day thousands leave, not because they want to. The truth is simple, people stay where opportunities exist and they leave where they don't. Capital formation has collapsed from 6.7% to below 3%. This number isn't just data, it builds factoriesâ??.

She further mentioned, â??Other cities are growing, expanding, creating and so that's where people go. How long do you ask a generation to wait? How long do you ask them to compromise? How long before leaving becomes the only option? We grew up believing that if we studied hard enough, we would find our place here. But somewhere along the way, that promise brokeâ??.

â??More degrees, more graduates but not enough jobs to match them. This is the same land that gave us Ravindranath Tagore, Subhash Chandra Bose, Satyajit Ray. Talent was never the problem. We were taught to dream here, just not to build those dreams here in India. We will carry Bengal with us wherever we go, but we shouldn't have to leave. This isn't a migration, it is a quiet goodbyeâ??, she added.

The assembly elections in West Bengal are scheduled to be held on April 23 and April 29, 2026 to elect all 294 members of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. The results will be declared on 4 May 2026.

/IANS