News Analysis India

Tag: Bengal Assembly elections

  • ‘Outsiders spreading coronavirus’: Now Mamata makes Covid spike in Bengal a poll plank

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA:  Spike in Covid cases in Bengal has become the ruling Trinamool Congress’s poll plank.

    Hitting out at the BJP and the Prime Minister, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, while addressing a rally at Nabadwip in Nadia on Friday, accused the saffron camp of bringing ‘outsiders’ from Gujarat and Rajasthan and spreading Covid in the state. 

    “Do not spread coronavirus in Bengal, Narendra Modiji. I am repeatedly saying this. Modi can visit Bengal and address rallies. But his party is bringing outsiders — people from Gujarat and Rajasthan — for erecting stage and pandals for BJP’s rallies. These outsiders are spreading Covid in Bengal,” she said.

    The pandemic scenario in Bengal was completely under control, Banerjee said. “We kept the Covid positive cases completely under control. But since the ‘outsiders’ are coming to Bengal, the count of positive cases is rising alarmingly.”

    ALSO READ |  West Bengal polls: EC bans rallies, public meetings from 7 pm-10 am due to rise in COVID cases

    Without naming BJP’s heavyweights visiting Bengal, Mamata said, “The situation was completely under control for the past five-six months. Narendra Modi could have saved all by giving vaccines. But he did not do that. Now they are bringing thousands of people to Bengal who are fleeing after spreading Covid.”

    Mamata requested the Election Commission to make the Covid test for ‘outsiders’ mandatory. If the test report is positive, they should not be allowed in the state.

    Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, who visited the state on several occasions and addressed rallies, tested positive for Covid on Thursday.   

    Bengal recorded its highest single-day spike of 6,769 fresh cases and 22 deaths in the past 24 hours.

    Referring to her promise of free Covid vaccine to all, Mamata accused the Centre of doing politics over it. “I wanted to give all in West Bengal Covid vaccine free of cost. But the Centre is not giving us adequate vaccines. The BJP is doing politics over it which is shameful,” she said.  

  • BJP responsible for COVID surge in Bengal, will urge EC to prevent entry of outsiders during campaigning: Mamata

    By Agencies
    NABADWIP: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Friday she will call upon the Election Commission to stop the BJP from bringing “outsiders” during campaigning, squarely blaming the saffron party for exacerbating the COVID-19 situation in the state.

    Banerjee, during a public meeting here in Nadia district, said the BJP brought people from “worst-hit” states like Gujarat for erecting marquees for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s poll rallies.

    ALSO READ | Mamata reluctant to grant citizenship to Matuas, Namsudras; Rahul a ‘tourist politician’: Amit Shah

    “For 5 months there was no COVID19, now they (BJP) have brought people from outside & no one is being tested. Whoever comes from outside should be tested…. People from outside are coming & spreading COVID19. When our people will die, they will blame us,” Banerjee told ANI at a rally in Noapara.

    “I will tell the EC to stop the inflow of outsiders from states like Gujarat who are responsible for the COVID-19 spread in Bengal.

    “We have nothing to say if the PM or other leaders come for campaigning. Why should the BJP bring people from worst-affected states to set up podiums and pandals for rallies,” she said.

    The Trinamool Congress boss said local labourers and decorators can be engaged for the purpose after necessary COVID-19 tests.

    Referring to her injury, the chief minister said the BJP wanted to stop her from canvassing by “targeting her leg”, but she has managed to come out triumphant.

    “They had targeted my leg, but I proved them wrong with the blessings of people. The injury has healed 75 per cent,” she said.

    Banerjee, who suffered injuries on her leg during campaigning in Nandigram on March 10, has since been seen seated on a wheelchair in rallies and roadshows.

    She said the COVID-19 surge in West Bengal could have been under check had Modi ensured vaccination for every citizen of the state.

    “The virus had become weak in the last five-six months. But, the PM did not take steps to vaccinate every citizen. He did not even respond to my suggestion for free vaccination for people of the state for political reasons.

    “On our part, we have already started free inoculation at some camps in Kolkata and other areas,” Banerjee said West Bengal on Thursday recorded the highest single- day spike of 6,769 coronavirus cases and at least 22 more fatalities.

    Urging all eligible voters to exercise their franchise on Saturday, the fifth phase of assembly elections, she alleged, “If you don’t, citing some excuses, the BJP will try to delete your name from the voter list.”

    The TMC chief also slammed the BJP-led government at the Centre for the hike in LPG cyclinder prices.

    “If they have their way, BJP will take it to Rs 5,000 per cyclinder. Tell them we don’t want cash for votes, we want cooking gas for free,” she said, accusing the saffron party of distributing money among people for votes.

    Speaking about the temple town Nabadwip, Banerjee said her government has spent Rs 300 crore for the heritage spot.

    “There are two heritage towns in the state – Nabadwip and Cooch Behar. What we have done for these places, no other government had done so during their tenure,” she asserted.

    Banerjee added that a world heritage centre was also coming up in Mayapur.

    “Nabadwip and Cooch Behar will be a pilgrimage hub when the planned projects are completed, attracting lakhs of tourists and providing more employment opportunities,” the CM said.

    (With ANI and PTI inputs)

  • Mamata reluctant to grant citizenship to Matuas, Namsudras; Rahul a ‘tourist politician’: Amit Shah

    By PTI
    TEHATTA: Union Home Minister Amit Shah Friday accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of denying citizenship to Dalit Matua and Namsudra communities as her “vote bank would not like it”.

    Reaching out to the two numerically strong communities which can infuence the outcome of assembly elections in many seats, Shah said a Rs 100 crore fund will be created for their welfare if the BJP is voted to power in the state.

    He also mocked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, calling him a “tourist politician”.

    “These Matua and Namsudra families are living here for 50-70 years, for three generations. But Didi says they will not get citizenship, why? Because her vote back would not like it,” he told an election rally in Tehatta in Nadia district.

    Taking a swipe at Rahul Gandhi who addressed his first two election rallies on Wednesday after keeping off the campaign in the state where his party is contesting in alliance with the Left while fighting against it in Kerala, Shah branded him a “tourist politician”.

    “A tourist politician arrived in Bengal after almost the entire poll got over and questioned our DNA. BJP’s DNA is development, nationalism and Atmanirbhar Bharat,” he said.

    Flaying “dynasty politics” in the TMC, Shah said while the BJP wants to implement the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme for farmers in Bengal, “Didi only wants Bhaipo (nephew) Samman Nidhi”.

    Top BJP leaders have been accusing Banerjee’s nephew and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee of wielding “unwarranted influence” over the government machinery and running “extortion syndicates”.

    “After people’s mandate on May 2 (counting day), nobody will be left to take cut money, the government of syndicates will be no more there, the government that works for Bhaipo will be gone,” he asserted.

    The home minister assailed the TMC government for “failing to check infiltrators who take away the jobs of our youths and food of our poor”.

    “Let alone illegal immigrants, not even a bird from across the border will be allowed to enter Bengal.

    Not the TMC, neither the Left, nor the Congress, only BJP can stop infiltration,” he asserted.

    He claimed the demography of Nadia district, which shares border with Bangladesh, had got altered because of infiltration.

  • Bengal polls: 45 constituencies to go to polls in fifth phase on April 17, fate of 342 candidates to be sealed

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Over one crore voters in West Bengal will decide the political fate of 342 candidates on Saturday, when 45 assembly constituencies go to polls in the fifth phase, amid a raging second wave of COVID-19.

    Security measures have been heightened for phase five in view of the violence in the previous phase, which witnessed the death of five people in Cooch Behar, including four in CISF firing.

    The Election Commission has decided to deploy at least 853 companies of central forces to ensure free and fair voting, an official of the poll panel said.

    It will also put in place measures to ensure strict adherence of COVID-19 protocols during the voting process, he said.

    West Bengal on Thursday recorded the highest single- day spike of 6,769 coronavirus cases and at least 22 more fatalities.

    Prominent names in the fifth phase include Siliguri Mayor and Left Front leader Ashok Bhattacharya, state ministers Gautam Deb and Bratya Basu and BJP’s Samik Bhattacharya.

    Voting will be held at 15,789 polling stations in the 45 constituencies 16 seats in North 24 Parganas, eight each in Purba Bardhaman and Nadia, seven in Jalpaiguri, five in Darjeeling and one in Kalimpong district.

    The phase is crucial for the ruling Trinamool Congress, which is hoping to better its 2016 tally of 32 seats, even as a resurgent BJP looks to make inroads.

    The Left-Congress alliance had bagged 10 seats in the assembly elections five years ago.

    TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, who had Thursday urged the EC to consider conducting the polls for the remaining assembly seats at one go in the wake of the emerging COVID-19 situation, held several public meetings and roadshows in most of the seats in the run-up to the fifth phase.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah led the campaign blitzkrieg of the BJP, which has fortified into TMC’s main challenger in this election.

    Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, too, has held two public meetings in north Bengal as part of his first campaign in the state for the assembly polls.

    Campaigning for the fifth phase ended on Wednesday with the EC having increased the ‘silence period’ from 48 to 72 hours in view of the Cooch Behar violence.

    Elections have been held in 135 constituencies so far, and the remaining 159 seats are set to go to polls between April 17 and 29.

  • Bengal polls: Mamata holds roadshow, Dilip Ghosh barred from campaigning for 24 hours

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Thursday held her second roadshow from Beliaghata to Bowbazar, a 4.5km-stretch under the scorching heat in Kolkata. 

    She was accompanied by Samajwadi Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Jaya Bachhan. Banerjee held her first roadshow on March 14.

    With hundreds of supporters following her, the roadshow on Thursday travelled along arterial roads of east and central Kolkata. 

    “I am accompanying her (Mamata) because of the slew of development works that were carried out during the TMC’s regime in Bengal. The TMC will win this election and the BJP will be whitewashed,” said Jaya Bachchan.

    ALSO READ | Bengal polls: Congress nominee dies of Covid, CPM cancels large rallies as cases spike

    BJP state president barred from campaigning

    The Election Commission of India on Thursday barred BJP’s state president Dilip Ghosh from campaigning for 24 hours starting from 8 pm on Thursday for his provocative statement in connection with the Cooch Behar firing in which four persons were gunned by central forces.

    Shortly after the incident of firing on April 10, Ghosh, while addressing a rally in Baranagar, North 24 Parganas, said, “If someone crosses his limits, then you have seen what happened in Sitalkuchi. There will be Sitalkuchi in several places.”

    The Trinamool Congress moved the poll panel alleging the provocative statement was a gross violation of the model code of conduct. Two days ago, the Commission served a notice on Ghosh asking him to clarify his statement.

    On Thursday, the Commission made it clear that it was not satisfied with Ghosh’s reply. ‘The Commission has carefully considered the reply of Shri Dilip Ghosh and is of the considered view that he has violated clauses (1) & (4) of Part 1 of ‘General Conduct of Model Code of Conduct for the guidance of political parties and candidates and made highly provocative and inciteful remarks which could adversely impact law & order thereby adversely affecting the election process,” the Commission says in its order.

  • NRC will not affect Gorkhas, Trinamool misleading them: Amit Shah

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA:  There is no plan to implement the NRC for now and it will have no impact on Gorkhas even if it is brought in the future, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday. Shah also assured that all cases registered against the Gorkhas during their movement demanding statehood would be withdrawn once the BJP comes to power in West Bengal.   

    At a rally in Kalimpong, Shah hit out at the Trinamool Congress for “creating fear’’ among the people of Darjeeling on the issue of the NRC by misleading them. “The TMC is misleading the people citing the NRC which has not been implemented yet. It is lying about the possible fallout of the NRC on the Gorkhas to create fear among them. There is no plan to implement the NRC now. Whenever it is done, not a single Gorkha will be asked to leave,’’ he assured the poll rally.

    The Congress-Communists-TMC combination did injustice to Gorkhas across the country for years, he asserted. “Gorkhas have a very rich history. Whenever the names of patriotic communities are taken, the names of Gorkhas are taken proudly.”

    The Communists had set the Darjeeling hills on fire in 1986 in which more than 1,200 Gorkhas were killed, he said. “Didi (Mamata) did nothing less. During her tenure, many people were killed and FIR lodged against thousands. Didi has withdrawn FIRs selectively. After the BJP-led government is formed in Bengal, all such FIRs will be withdrawn within a week,’’ he told the rally.

    Shah also promised to ensure the status of scheduled tribe to 11 Gorkha ethnic groups if the BJP is elected to power.  Apart from being the deciding factor in the three hill seats of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong, the Gorkha community has a considerable presence in some of the seats in north Bengal’s Dooars. 

  • TMC, Congress, Left depend on ‘outsiders’; BJP chief minister in Bengal will be ‘son of soil’: Amit Shah 

    By PTI
    NAGRAKATA:  Taking on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her oft-repeated ‘outsider’ barb against him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accusing her of lack of knowledge, Union Home Minister Amit Shah Tuesday said that it is the Trinamool Congress, Left and Congress who have to depend on outsiders.

    He said that Banerjee, also Trinamool Congress supremo, terms him and Modi as outsiders but her party depends on votes from illegal immigrants.

    “Am I an outsider? Am I not a citizen of the country? Didi terms the country’s prime minister as an outsider,” Shah told a poll rally at this tea garden town in Dooars area of Jalpaiguri district. Banerjee’s knowledge is “very little”, he said.

    “Let me tell you Didi who are outsiders. The communists have imported their ideology from China and Russia. The leadership of Congress too is from outside – it has come from Italy.

    ALSO READ | Gorkha problem to be fixed after BJP comes to power in Bengal: Amit Shah

    “And the Trinamool Congress’ vote bank is from outside – the illegal immigrants,” the top BJP leader said.

    Shah said he was born in this country and will turn to ashes in this land.

    “So how can I be an outsider?” Banerjee has been almost daily accusing the BJP leadership of being outsiders in West Bengal and bringing in goons from other states for the ongoing assembly elections in the state.

    Shah said the TMC supremo “cannot deceive the people of the state for long” since BJP’s chief minister for West Bengal will be a son of the soil.

    He maintained that Mamata Banerjee, who has been demanding his resignation, will have to go on May 2, the day when the state election result will be declared.

    “This election is not about my resignation, but it is of yours (Banerjee’s).”

    Banerjee had last demanded Shah’s resignation for the firing by central forces at Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar in which four people were killed in the fourth phase of polling on April 10.

    Shah claimed that the chief minister has not raised the wages of tea garden workers, while she has been regularly abusing Modi “the son of a tea-seller”.

    The union minister said that all refugees will be given citizenship by the BJP and alleged that Banerjee is unwilling to give them the right because she fears that her vote bank will not be happy with that.

    If voted to power BJP will ensure that an AIIMS hospital comes up in north Bengal as the people of the area have to travel to Kolkata for treatment of serious ailments.

    “Modiji has come with 115 schemes for Bengal and Didi has given 115 scams,” Shah said hitting out at teh ruling TMC.

  • Gorkha problem to be fixed after BJP comes to power in Bengal: Amit Shah

    By PTI
    DARJEELING: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday gave assurance that a political solution to the long-drawn “Gorkha problem” in the Hills will be reached once the BJP forms government in West Bengal.

    Shah, during a public meeting here, said that the country’s Constitution is “vast” and has provisions for solving all problems.

    “I promise that a permanent political solution to the Gorkha problem will be reached by the double-engine government of the BJP — one at the Centre and the other in Bengal. You will not have to resort to agitations anymore,” he said.

    The Union minister, however, did not specify which problem he was referring to.

    Gorkhas had long been demanding a separate state, and several movements have been launched by the community over the years, the latest being in 2017.

    Contending that Gorkhas are the pride of India, Shah said that no one cause them any harm.

    “There is no plan to implement NRC for now. Even if the exercise is carried out, Gorkhas need not worry about it,” he asserted.

    Shah also said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has “put a full stop” on the development work in Darjeeling, a place that the ruling TMC leaders visit at leisure.

    Banerjee has visited Darjeeling numerous times in the recent past, but she did not hold any campaign for the three assembly seats in the region — set to go polls on April 17.

    The top BJP leader claimed that the TMC supremo tried to ruin the cordial relationship that the BJP shared with the Gorkhas by instituting criminal cases against “some”.

    “Didi has got many killed and instituted cases against many.

    The BJP, after coming to power, will give amnesty to all such people,” he said, without naming anyone.

    GJM leader Bimal Gurung, a former ally of BJP, had gone into hiding after several criminal charges were pressed against him for allegedly leading a violent statehood agitation in 2017.

    He resurfaced in October last year and joined hands with the TMC.

    The state administration has now approached the courts of law for withdrawing some of these cases.

    The ruling TMC has left the three Darjeeling constituencies to its allies from the Hills — the two GJM factions led by Gurung and Binay Tamang.

    Both the sparring factions have fielded candidates, who are constesting the elections from the three seats as Independents.

  • BJP to win 63-68 seats in first three phases of polling in Bengal: Amit Shah

    By PTI
    DOMJUR: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that the BJP is confident of winning 63 to 68 seats in the first three phases of elections held in West Bengal so far.

    Polling has been completed in 91 of the 294 assembly seats in the state, which will see five more phases of elections.

    ALSO READ | Bengal assembly elections: Amit Shah holds roadshow in Singur, assures industrialisation

    “The Bharatiya Janata Party estimates that it will surely win 63 to 68 seats in the first three phases of elections and gain a huge lead over the Trinamool Congress, Communists and the Congress,” Shah said.

    The saffron party will also gain leads in the rest of the phases and cross the target of winning 200 seats, he told reporters after having lunch at a local BJP supporter’s modest home here in Howrah district.

  • Bengal assembly elections: Amit Shah holds roadshow in Singur, assures industrialisation

    By PTI
    SINGUR: Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a colourful roadshow here on Wednesday, once a hot spot of the anti-land acquisition movement, and promised rapid industrialisation of the area if BJP is voted to power.

    The symbolism of the home minister holding a roadshow in Singur, three days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a rally there and alleged the “obstructionist mindset” of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee deprived West Bengal of industries and jobs, was clear–the BJP wants to corner her over the state’s dwindling industrial base and alleged job loss.

    Lustily cheered by crowds, Shah stood atop a decorated vehicle with BJP candidate for the Singur seat Rabindranath Bhattacharya, who recently joined the saffron party after leaving the Trinamool Congress, and smilingly waved at people standing by the roadside and on terraces and balconies.

    Speaking to reporters during the show, Shah said Singur, which has been shunned by industry since the 2006 agitation, will be developed by the next BJP government in the state.

    ALSO READ | TMC leaders swindled all central aid for Bengal: Yogi Adityanath

    “We will develop the area by setting up industries and a Rs 500 crore intervention fund has been announced for potatoes, for which the area is known, in our Sankalp Patra (manifesto),” he said.

    Shah said, after winning the elections, the BJP government will ensure that small, medium and large industries are set up in Singur, situated beside the national highway connecting Kolkata and New Delhi.

    “We will pursue politics of development, dialogue and cooperation, instead of confrontation,” he said.

    He said he welcomed TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee for invoking Hindu Gods and Goddesses, and for reciting Chandi Path (hymns to Goddess Durga) at public meetings, but quipped it was “too late for her”.

    “The BJP will win Bengal elections with more than 200 seats in the kitty,” he said.

    West Bengal has 294 assembly seats.

    Banerjee, often accused by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders of minority appeasement, has been regularly chanting hymns and asserting her Hindu identity to keep the majority community in good humour.

    ALSO READ | Mamata heaping abuse on me as she is frustrated over TMC’s impending defeat, says PM Modi

    The roadshow meandered through the roads of Singur town for nearly an hour from Dulepara more to Singur police station, as colourful posters, BJP flags and green and saffron balloons dotted route.

    Chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and slogans demanding industrialisation and jobs pervaded the air as the procession crawled through streets.

    Donning a saffron-coloured turban, the 89-year-old Bhattacharya, a four-time TMC MLA from Singur before he left the party on being denied a ticket, waved at the crowd standing alongside Shah.

    Bhattacharya’s induction and nomination had caused a lot of resentment among BJP old-timers in Singur.

    Shah is scheduled to hold three more roadshows in the state, including one in Kolkata, on Wednesday.

    Referring to the Singur movement of 2006-08 that forced Tata Motors to move out its proposed small car Nano’s mother production unit from there, Modi had told an election meeting that the TMC used the place for political purpose and then left the people to fend for themselves.

    Singur, a small town in Hooghly district, has an old connection between Banerjee and Modi.

    The scene of an aggressive movement led by Banerjee against forcible land acquisition by the then Left Front government for the ‘Nano’ project, Singur, along with Nandigram, had catapulted the street fighter TMC leader to power in West Bengal in 2011.

    The sustained, and often violent, protests by the local farming community led by Banerjee forced the Tatas to move out of Singur.

    A cryptic ‘Suswagatam’ SMS from Modi, then the Gujarat chief minister, to Ratan Tata, the group chairman, is said to have clinched the deal in Gujarat’s favour and led to the relocation of the project to Sanand near Ahmedabad.

    Many considered it as West Bengal’s loss and Gujarat’s gain.