Taslima Noor, 34, told DW that she has not slept for days since police in India's capital, New Delhi, intensified their drive to detain Bangladeshis who they claim are in the country illegally.

"I have been working here for seven years, and I am fearful that the authorities will create trouble for my family," said Noor, who is a domestic worker.

Noor is from a Bengali-speaking region of Cooch Behar in the Indian state of West Bengal, near the border with Bangladesh.

Since the beginning of the year, nine Bangladeshis have been deported from India, reportedly as part of a broader drive to clamp down on irregular immigration within the city. A number of Bengali-speaking Indians told DW that they have also been caught up in the dragnet.

Abdul Quddus, a construction worker who is also from Cooch Behar and has been living in Delhi for over a decade, told DW that police personnel recently visited his house.

"I have all the requisite documentation to establish my Indian bona fides but have been questioned three times already," Quddus told DW.

A BJP-driven clampdown

So far, the police have already initiated deportation processes for more than 25 people, questioned over 5,000, and claimed to have dismantled a syndicate involved in facilitating irregular immigration and the issuance of fake identification documents.

"Four persons, including two Bangladeshi nationals and two Indian facilitators, who had been living here have been arrested," Joint Commissioner of Police Sanjay Kumar Jain said.

With elections for the Delhi Assembly scheduled for February, opponents of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party say the clampdown is politically motivated.

In return, the BJP and its allies have accused Delhi state's governing Aam Aadmi Party of using people in India illegally as a voter base, an accusation the AAP refutes.

The BJP calls the crackdown a necessary measure to uphold national security and electoral integrity.

"This is a due process of law and that must begin somewhere," BJP spokesperson Tom Vadakkan told DW.

"The right to have your vote counted in a clean election is the right of every citizen,"Vadakkan said. "It is worrisome when you have so many illegal migrants that can muddy the electoral process."

Many politicians are also insisting that Bangladeshis working without authorization are taking away their jobs. However, despite the long history of cross-border movement between Bangladesh and India, little data exists regarding the number of migrants or their effect on employment.

Dangerous election narratives

With no real data available for immigration numbers, observers fear that the ongoing clampdown in Delhi will lead to broader tensions over immigration and citizenship rights.

"This electoral battle in Delhi is about creating a series of vote-catching narratives. Fanning anti-immigration sentiment is one of them," Sunil Kumar Aledia, executive director of the Centre for Holistic Development, an organization that advocates for the rights of homeless people, told DW.

Aledia said the clampdown disproportionately affects people who are already marginalized and is leading to fears of wrongful detentions and deportations.

"There is a need for humane treatment of all individuals," Aledia said, regardless of their immigration status."

Quddus, the construction worker from eastern India, said he hoped that the clampdown would end and that he and his neighbors would no longer have to live in constant fear.

"There is apprehension among the Bengali-speaking community," Quddus said, "especially about how the drive will impact our vulnerable population."

Edited by: Ole Tangen