News Analysis India

Tag: Bengal elections

  • Bengal polls 2021: The strategist and the Muslim, SC/ST votebank

    Express News Service
    WEST BENGAL: “This election is bipolar. I don’t see anything else at the micro or macro level.”

    That’s one of Mamata Banerjee’s key strategists airing his views, post two volatile phases of polling, with six more to go, a process that cumulatively promises to run a bleeding-edge scythe through West Bengal’s political history.

    Bengal, particularly Kolkata, is of course teeming with election strategists, free-floating analysts and sundry do-gooders. That’s natural for a state with that kind of heightened political consciousness. But our man stands out for various reasons. For one, no one can be more free-floating than him in an election where the ‘outsider/insider’ binary has been quite pronounced, he’s an outsider on the inside, so to speak, having travelled across a few green fields, been on all sides, peddling his professional wares like a migrant labourer of strategic thought. And he has all the swagger of a new-age visionary.

    It’s quite a crowded field, though. Some have come to save Bengal from cultural corruption, others have come to rescue it from petty corruption—cut money, tolabaaji (extortion), political rent-seeking of many shades, all that. It has some benefits. The hotel industry and the fab cafes haven’t seen such brisk business in the last 10 years of Didi’s rule. None of them will say koro na (don’t do it) to this moveable feast, corona or no corona.

    Among the migratory flocks, some of the busiest are those who make managing elections their raison d’etre. Like our man. Quite apolitical, they look at elections clinically, through the prism of personality cults, creation of catchphrases and hashtags—all with bands of young, outsourced volunteers. “This election is about Mamata Banerjee,” claims one such strategist, “nothing else matters.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who’s thundering forth from more rally pulpits here in Bengal than he may have spoken on some other delicate occasions, pretty much confirms that in his own way. He doesn’t utter a line without mockingly invoking her, intoning the words “Arrey Didi….”

    The strategist obviously thinks he knows the best. But Mamata, being the Didi that she is, can’t be scripted to fit into any box—not even the one that’s labelled Banglar meye (daughter of Bengal). She’s too canny for that. In Cooch Behar, for instance, Mamata reminds voters: “This election is not about me. It is about saving Bengal.” Cooch Behar (nine seats) and Alipurduar (five seats), up north, nestled along the restive Chicken’s Neck, are going to polls on April 6. 

    Subaltern & Muslim votes count in poll fight for Mamata

    This border region, with Assam, Bhutan and the hills adding variety to the proximity of Bangladesh, has a slightly distinct air and culture, separate from the rest of Bengal. They represent a spot of bother for her, but she’ll certainly not let it go without a fight, whatever may the strategist’s view be. Quite surprisingly, here she focuses more on the bit players than on her main rival, the BJP. “Don’t fall for that man from Hyderabad” or “the other one from Furfura Sharif,” she says again and again.

    “Don’t divide your vote.” Lest her target audience misses the point, she clarifies: “My friends from the minority and SC/ST communities, don’t divide your votes.” That’s a nudge to them to stay away from Asaduddin Owaisi and Abbas Siddiqui, the man who floated a party (ISF) just last month and is in an alliance with the Congress-Left. The ISF, incidentally, has fielded more Dalit than Muslim candidates. Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e- Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (colloquially shortened to everywhere here as MIM) is testing the waters in a few, limited seats here—and that may just suffice to cut a few crucial TMC votes in Cooch Behar and adjoining Uttar Dinajpur. Siddiqui (or Abbas Baba, as he’s popularly known) is mostly present in the southern parts, where he has some strength.

    Not so much up there in the north. Not even in the central districts, which have a high Muslim concentration, and are going to polls in the last three phases. That’s left to its partners to harvest their old fiefs. The TMC does need to maximise its gains here, while cutting its losses elsewhere. The old status quo where central Bengal was seen as a traditional secular Congress stronghold, with a smattering of Left presence, has been broken with communal polarisation. Which is at an all-time high now. Hence, the scramble for 30-40% minority votes in about 70 constituencies between the Sanjukta Morcha (of the Congress- Left-ISF) and the TMC each rivalling the other to corner anti-BJP votes.

    Meanwhile, the BJP, which had swept the 2019 Lok Sabha seats in the north, particularly in Cooch Behar, is freely preying everywhere on anti-incumbency votes. And of course, that of neo-converts to Hindu identity politics—a new, burgeoning phenomenon in Bengal. Many districts go to polls only later this month, but work is in full swing. So are WhatsApp videos. The latest is from Siuri, Birbhum, where a Muslim congregation is seen supposedly pledging its votes to saffron! The TMC strategist, for his part, is least bothered. “Let them (as in, BJP) take all the 27 seats in the north. How does it matter? Contrary to propaganda, we’ve done well in the first two phases.

    And we’re winning Nandigram.” No escape from Nandigram! The BJP is all too happy to keep the narrative pinned to what they like to call “Didi’s Waterloo”. And thus conjuring up an image of Mamata leading a retreating army, and letting that flow into public consciousness. The strategist asserts all the Nandigram polling brouhaha and the battle of perspectives thereafter, around who won, will have “no impact” on the next rounds of polling.

    “It’s done and dusted.” Well…speculation is meanwhile rife that Didi may be looking for a second seat, perhaps in Birbhum. How come? It was sparked off by none other than the Prime Minister. TMC strategists and Didi’s war-room aides vehement ly deny any such possibility. If Didi has the final say on this or anything else, the strategist is poised as a prime influencer of sorts. The influence seems gradually waning, though. As of now, the strategist is discouraging Urban Development Minister Firhad (Bobby) Hakim and MP Nusrat Jahan, both articulate TMC leaders, from campaigning in non-minority-dominated areas. Demands from candidates notwithstanding.

    The polarisation is that complete. Didi herself, however, brooks no such rules. Reciting Chandipath on stage and mentioning her gotra (duly mocked by the ‘Hyderabadi’) is no longer her focus as she vociferously courts the minority and SC/ST voters. Didi knows if the TMC cannot maximise its seats in Uttar and Dakshin Dinajpur, Malda, Murshidabad, Birbhum and Burdwan, the game would close in on her. The Morcha may not be making headlines, and may be laughed off as ‘old nostalgia’ with no electoral impact on the ground by the strategist, but Didi clearly thinks otherwise.

    When every vote counts, she cannot allow even a semblance of Muslim-Dalit alliance a partly novel idea in these parts, emanating from Abbas Baba, his Morcha, or Oswaisi’s acid tongue—break her wider social alliance. Particularly, when in Nadia, Hooghly, Howrah, North and South 24 Parganas, the BJP is mining local anger with a potent mix of religiosity, to its advantage. Tactically, Didi is now playing opposition politics to stop subaltern votes from deserting her. Didi can really get as bipolar as Bengal when she wants!

  • Trinamool fighting hard to retain hold over Abhishek Banerjee’s backyard Diamond Harbour

    By PTI
    DIAMOND HARBOUR: The Trinamool Congress is fighting hard to retain the seven assembly segments in Diamond Harbour constituency, represented by TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee in the Lok Sabha.

    Apart from a surge in BJP’s support base, allegations of corruption in Amphan relief seemed to be a cause of concern for the TMC, despite the fact that Banerjee, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew had won the 2019 Lok Sabha elections by more than 3.2 lakh votes.

    The Left front led-Sanjukta Morcha’s emergence as a third force has also queered the pitch as young CPM and ISF workers have been fanning out seeking support for their candidates.

    Out of the seven assembly segments in Diamond Harbour constituency, Banerjee had a huge lead in Muslim-dominated Metiaburuz and Budge Budge assembly segments, while he was ahead by a handsome margin in Maheshtala, Bishnupur, Satgachia, Falta and Diamond Harbour, all of which also have a sizeable minority population.

    While the CPI(M) is contesting Diamond Harbour, Satgachia, Bishnupur and Maheshtala, the Congress is fighting from Budge Budge and Falta, while the ISF has put up its candidate in Metiabruz, which is situated in the south-western outskirts of Kolkata.

    Allegations of irregularities in distribution of relief to those affected by the Amphan cyclone, in May last year have rocked the state government with the Calcutta High Court ordering an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

    The BJP top leadership have raked up the allegations in almost every election meeting, while the chief minister Banerjee has asserted that all affected have been given relief with the exception of a few possible glitches.

    There are 17,18,454 voters in the seven segments, with 8,32,059 being female and 8,86,339 male, while there are 56 from the third gender.

    With the Election Commission holding elections in the 31 assembly segments in South 24 Parganas district in an unprecedented three phases, four seats in Diamond Harbour – Falta, Satgachia, Bishnupur and Diamond Harbour will go for polls on April 6 while the voters in Maheshtala, Budge Budge and Metiaburuz will exercise their franchise on April 10.

    “We have got everything, our MLA Dilip Mondal has done a lot of work and we have electricity and good roads, there is peace in the area,” Basudeb Mondal, a local TMC leader at Companypukur village in Bishnupur assembly segment claimed.

    While the infrastructure does indeed look good with smooth roads replacing the older bumpy, pot-holed roads in the area, an undercurrent of discontent is discernible among a section of voters, who complain of partisan relief distribution and lack of jobs even as they also speak of infrastructural development.

    However, many others said that relief and dole had flowed without hitches.

    Habibullah Sheikh, a vegetable seller, said his family received funds from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s ‘Rupashri’ scheme for his sister’s marriage.

    TMC flags flutter in most places, but nearby flags with BJP’s lotus symbol, vie to catch the passerby’s eye.

    The CPM’s hammer and sickle however are few and far between.

    Said 25-year-old Palash Mondal, 25, an unemployed youth, “the tradition of having one party rule Bengal for decades should not continue as that breeds corruption and hampers development.”

    “Those who want jobs want a change,” added Mondal, a graduate.

    Discontent against local party leaders seems to have forced TMC to replace four-time MLA Sonali Guha as its candidate in Satgachia, prompting her to join the BJP.

    While this has led to confusion among voters it has also meant the party is a divided house.

    Auto-rickshaw driver Tulsi Pal claimed “many people could not vote in the panchayat elections, hope this time it will be different.”

    Falta, which has a sizable number of factories in the Special Economic Zone there, appeared peaceful with not much political sloganeering on.

    TMC worker Ranjit Das claimed the ruling party is sure of a win there.

    The TMC has fielded rookie Shankar Kumar Naskar from Falta following the death of three-time party MLA Tamonash Ghosh, who did not hide his uncomfortable relationship with the local MP, during the pandemic.

    At Chandnagar village, the air is full of optimism among TMC workers as many feel candidate Pannalal Halder will win handsomely from Diamond Harbour seat, while admitting that the BJP has emerged as the main opponent this time around.

    TMC’s sitting MLA Dipak Halder, who left the party to join the BJP and was nominated by it as its candidate from the seat, was at the receiving end of an attack allegedly by his former colleagues while campaigning at Haridevpur village on Friday.

    The ruling party has denied any role in the assault.

    Busy putting up posters of Mamata Banerjee on roadside walls with “Bangla nijer meyeke chai (Bengal wants its own daughter) written on the posters, Mir Alam Laskar of the TMC charged BJP and its leadership with dividing the riverine community on religious lines.

    “It is because of the saffron party that such things are happening.”

  • With 23 rallies in whirlwind election tours, there’s no stopping of PM Modi even in pandemic

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: The political impact of the Covid pandemic isn’t yet known, but PM Narendra Modi appears to have rekindled his intensity in Assembly elections as a campaigner after a lull in the intervening period following the 2017 Gujarat election till the start of Jharkhand poll in 2019.

    Till Sunday, Modi had a whirlwind election tour clocking 23 rallies, while a few more are lined up for the last five phases of the Bengal elections.

    The PM, so far, held 16 rallies in Assam and West Bengal, and seven in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.

    In 2017, Modi lead the BJP’s campaign in Gujarat during which he addressed 33 rallies besides taking off in a seaplane from Sabarmati riverfront on the last day of the campaigning to visit a temple. Though the BJP won the poll, the margin was reduced in the Assembly. 

    Subsequently, the BJP strategists reworked election campaign plans, with focus on building the grounds by then party chief Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath and others for the PM to step in at the last stage.

    The rationale of the strategy was seemingly to keep him fresh for the 2019 Lok Sabha campaign in which he tallied 142 rallies in less than two months. 

    In 2018, Modi addressed 29 rallies in MP (10), Chhattisgarh (4) and Rajasthan (15). The PM kept the tempo for elections in Maharashtra (9), Haryana (4) and Jharkhand (10).  The BJP lost power in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, and retained power in Haryana with a post-poll alliance with JJP. 

    Before political observers jumped to the conclusion that the PM’s appeal in the states is on decline, the Covid pandemic appears to have turned Modi into an intense campaigner as the first election after the outbreak saw him leading from the front with 12 rallies in Bihar.

    Going on campaign overdrive

    Till Sunday, Modi had a whirlwind election tour clocking 23 rallies, while a few more are lined up for the last five phases of the Bengal elections.

    The PM, so far, held 16 rallies in Assam and West Bengal, and seven in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry

  • No plans to conduct NRC exercise in Bengal, CAA to be implemented: Vijayvargiya

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Countering opposition claims that the BJP, if voted to power in Bengal, will update the National Register of Citizens (NRC), thereby “taking away the citizenship rights of people”, Kailash Vijayvargiya, the saffron camp’s national general secretary, on Sunday reaffirmed that no such plan is on the radar.

    He, however, stated that the party intends to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and provide rights to refugees who fled religious persecution in neighbouring countries and moved to India.

    “We are only looking forward to implementing the CAA after the elections, as promised in the manifesto. It is an important issue for us, as we strive to grant citizenship to the persecuted refugees. We do not have any plan of conducting the NRC exercise, even if we win the elections,” he said.

    According to state BJP sources, the new citizenship law will benefit more than 1.5 crore people in India, including over 72 lakh in West Bengal.

    Accusing the TMC of “running a disinformation campaign against the saffron camp, the 64-year-old leader wondered why the ruling party in the state is opposing the CAA, which could be of benefit to many.

    Bengal has a sizeable population of Matuas, who had been migrating to the state since the 1950s, primarily due to religious persecution.

    The community, with its three million members, influences at least four Lok Sabha seats and 30-40 assembly seats in Nadia, North and South-24 Parganas.

    The TMC hopes to politically exploit the confusion over CAA implementation to curry favour with the Matua community, which had voted hands down in favour of the saffron camp in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

    Training his guns on Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her assertion that the “Election Commission was working at the behest of the BJP”, Vijayvargiya, who is also the BJP’s Bengal minder, said it was an irony that the TMC boss pointed no finger at the poll panel when her party registered two successive electoral victories.

    Contending that Banerjee’s “foolish claims” will yield no result, he said the TMC, sensing defeat, is levelling absurd allegations against the saffron party.

    “Mamata Banerjee never felt that the EC was acting partially when she won the polls. The irony is that when you were winning the elections, everything seems fine. Once you start sensing defeat, you blame the EC and the electronic voting machines,” he said.

    Exuding confidence that the BJP will sweep the assembly elections, with more than 200 seats in its kitty, Vijayvargiya also downplayed insinuations that the party could be at a disadvantage for not having projected a chief ministerial face in Bengal, and said “several leaders are capable of taking the reins of the state” and a decision would be taken only after the polls.

    “We are fighting the elections under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. We have never projected a CM face in poll-bound states. For us, ideology is important. Once voted to power, the legislative party in consultation with the top leaders will decide on the CM candidate,” he said.

    In an interview with PTI, the BJP’s Bengal minder further claimed that the people of the state are waiting to witness “ashol poriborton” (real change), as they have long endured infiltration woes, corrupt practices and the politics of appeasement.

    The call for “poriborton” was first given by the TMC during the 2011 assembly polls, as it sought to end the 34- year Left rule in the state.

    Slamming the Mamata Banerjee camp over its “outsider versus insider” debate, the BJP’s chief strategist in Bengal said that the ruling party in the state has nothing better to talk about, given its dismal performance in the last 10 years.

    The TMC has branded the BJP as a “party of outsiders” as its top leaders hail from other states.

    “The TMC wants to make an emotional appeal with its ‘Bengal daughter’ campaign. But I don’t think Bengal would get swayed away by this. This is 2021, and such issues don’t have much of an impact. As the party has no achievement in its bag, it clings to this ‘outsider-insider’ debate,” he said.

    Noting that people are fed up with the TMC’s “syndicate culture, appeasement politics and politicisation and criminalisation of administration”, Vijayvargiya said “corruption has percolated to the grass-roots level, and that has angered the people of the state”.

    Insisting that the BJP is keen on securing India’s eastern borders, which have turned into a “transit point for terror elements”, he said infiltration is not just threatening national security but also taking a toll on the country’s economy, as locals now have to compete with the illegal immigrants for jobs.

    Dismissing allegations that “communal polarisation has reared its ugly head in Bengal, with the growth of the BJP in the state”, the senior saffron camp leader said the TMC’s appeasement politics was to blame for the rise in identity politics, and his party, once voted to power, would put an end to this practice.

    Asked whether the rift between old-timers and newcomers over ticket distribution has been reined in, he said everyone in the party will have to abide by the rules and regulations laid down by the top brass.

    “During the last assembly polls, we had difficulty finding suitable candidates for the 294 seats. This time, however, there were as many as 5,000 aspirants. Thankfully, everything is under control.”

    “We have spoken to all workers, and they are back working for the party. We are a disciplined party, but we also practise democracy and everyone has the right to express their views,” he said.

  • ‘Creating communal tension Mamata’s policy’: Dharmendra Pradhan lashes out at Bengal CM

    By ANI
    KOLKATA: Ahead of the third phase of polling in West Bengal, Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is scared with the support people are showing to BJP and accused her of doing minority appeasement in the state. He alleged that creating communal tension has been her policy.

    Speaking to media in Kolkata after offering prayers at Dakshineshwar Kali Temple, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader said, “The Chief Minister of West Bengal is scared with the support people showed to BJP in the first two phases. They will do the same in this phase too. She has resorted to using abusive language.”

    “On the one hand Mamata Banerjee considers ‘Jai Shree Ram’ as abuse, and on other hand, she is asking the minorities to vote for her. Creating communal tension has become her policy,” he added.

    Pradhan is in Kolkata for campaigning before the third phase of polling said people of Bengal voted for BJP in the first two-phase and will do the same in the third phase.

    He also talked about petrol, diesel prices in the country and said with a decrease in crude oil prices in international markets, fuel prices in India have also started reducing now and they will reduce further in the coming days.

    “Petrol, diesel and LPG prices have started reducing now and they will reduce further in the coming days. We had stated earlier also that we will transfer benefit from the decrease in crude oil prices in the international market to the end customers,” he said.

    Pradhan also held a roadshow in Kolkata today, before the campaigning for the third phase ends in the evening.

    Polling for the first two phases of the West Bengal polls was held on March 27 and April 1 respectively. The next phase of polling will take place on April 6. The counting of votes will take place on May 2. 

  • Mamata seen shaking injured leg in video sparks war of words between Trinamool, BJP

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: A purported video clip where Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is seen sitting on a wheelchair and moving her plastered leg back and forth has gone viral on social media, giving her rivals an opportunity to claim that she was playing up her injuries to win sympathy.

    The TMC, however, has condemned the “manner in which the party supremo has been insulted”, and said the rival BJP should learn how to respect women.

    PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.

    BJP spokesperson Pronoy Roy, who shared the 30-second clip on Facebook, said Banerjee should “stop putting up a drama over her injuries” to garner public support in the midst of the assembly elections.

    “This video grab which has surfaced on networking websites has not been filmed by anybody from the BJP. It was recorded by some TMC party workers. We want her to get back to normal life soon, we also pray for that. But she must stop putting up this drama by moving around in a wheelchair.”

    “If she was exercising her leg by shaking it then I suggest that she start walking as that will help her recuperate faster.”

    Taking a jibe at the chief minister, Rahul Sinha, a senior leader of the saffron party, said the TMC supremo’s bandage will not buy her votes.

    “The more she is losing confidence the bigger her bandage gets. People are not buying this. She must have forgotten which leg is injured, and shook the wrong foot. She has already lost the elections, the bandage won’t be able to save her from imminent defeat,” Sinha said.

    Taking strong exception to the remarks made by BJP leaders, state minister Shashi Panja said the saffron camp, by raising suspicion over Banerjee’s injuries, has not just insulted her but all the women of Bengal.

    “We condemn the manner the BJP is insulting our beloved CM. They are not just insulting our CM, but also the other women of the state. We urge them to show proper respect to the women of this state,” Panja said.

    Echoing her, former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, who joined the TMC recently, said if anybody was churning out lies, it was the BJP and not the TMC.

    “Are they (BJP leaders) trying to say that a whole lot of people involved (in treating her) including eminent doctors are lying? It’s only the BJP which is capable of speaking such lies. I’ve no doubt in my mind that they are the ones behind this (propaganda),” Sinha, who had served as the finance minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet, stated.

    TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh also hit out at the BJP and said that the people of Bengal will give the BJP a befitting reply for its “dirty politics”.

    “If they (BJP leaders) are spending so much time staring at Didi’s feet, they might as well fall on her feet. We condemn such politics that targets a woman who is holding campaigns sitting on a wheelchair, after being attacked. This shows that the BJP has lost its plot,” Ghosh said.

    Banerjee sustained injuries on her left leg, waist, shoulder and neck as she fell down after allegedly being pushed by miscreants in Nandigram on March 10.

  • Bengal: Over 10 election officials including observers replaced after testing positive for COVID-19

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Over 10 election officials, including a few observers and one returning officer have been replaced in West Bengal after they tested positive for COVID- 19, a senior official said.

    “Yes, several officials have been replaced after they tested positive for COVID-19. We have replaced some observers who had tested positive for the disease before coming to West Bengal and also those who were diagnosed with the contagion after coming here. Naturally, they were replaced,” the official said.

    He said COVID-19 safety protocols were strictly followed throughout the state.

    “We have arranged for all forms of measures. We have asked everyone to wear masks and maintain physical distancing,” the official said, adding that inoculation of all the officials involved with the election process in the state has been completed.

    Meanwhile, nominations of 205 candidates were found valid for the third phase of polling scheduled to be held in 31 assembly constituencies in West Bengal on April 6.

    A total number of 78,52,425 voters will exercise their voting rights at 10,871 polling stations in the districts of Howrah, South 24 Parganas and Hooghly in the third phase of polling.

  • Bengal polls: If Didi contests from another seat, it will be a twin mistake, says Modi

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: Nandigram has already voted, but the BJP continued to use TMC chief Mamata Banerjee’s decision to contest against Suvendu Adhikari as a political tool to gain electoral dividend in the next six phases of the election.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing a rally in South 24-Parganas on Saturday, said Mamata should accept her defeat in Nandigram and she should not contest from another seat as her twin defeat will lead to the TMC’s disappearance from Bengal’s political landscape. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other heavyweights of the saffron camp echoed the same.

    Since the TMC is believed to be a ‘one-person’ party, BJP’s effort to portray Mamata Banerjee as a loser appears to be the saffron brigade’s game plan to demoralise TMC cadres and electorates having allegiance to the ruling party before the third-phase poll on April 6. It seems to be a well chalked-out plan as Mamata contested against her former cabinet colleague Suvendu Adhikari.

    ALSO READ | ‘Didi now looking for place outside Bengal’: Modi hits back at TMC’s 2024 Varanasi ‘challenge’

    “From your home, you went to Nabanna on a scooter. Then you went to Nandigram where you are going to lose with huge margin. Defeat is standing in front of you (Mamata). Accept it, Didi. I have heard, though could not verify, that now a section of your educated party colleagues is saying your decision to contest from Nandigram was a wrong one. I also heard you are planning to contest from another seat. If you do, it will be another wrong decision, Didi. Because your twin defeat will lead to the TMC’s disappearance from the electoral landscape of West Bengal,” Modi said in his speech in a rally at Sonarpur, South 24 Parganas, a TMC’s stronghold.

    Mamata recently rode a scooter in protest against the hike in fuel prices.

    BJP national president JP Nadda also echoed the same that he had come to know from TMC insiders that Mamata is going to contest from another seat. Following the footprint of Shah and Nadda, Modi on Saturday continued to highlight Mamata as a loser in a public rally despite the Bengal CM announced, while addressing a rally on Friday, that she will not contest from any other seat.

    “Mamata Banerjee is the one and only face of the party. Now, we are going to face elections in south Bengal districts in the next few phases which is known as the TMC’s strongholds. If a message can be delivered that her defeat is confirmed, her followers and the ruling party’s voters will get scared and subsequently, it will give us electoral dividend in the next phases,” said a BJP leader.

    TMC MP and spokesperson Saugata Roy said the BJP is trying to play the game of fear psychosis which will not work.

  • ‘Ensure TMC victory in 200 seats to protect democracy’: Mamata’s appeal to north Bengal voters

    Express News Service
    KOLKATA: Countering BJP’s claim of winning in more than 200 seats out of 294 in the West Bengal’s Assembly elections, CM Mamata Banerjee on Friday urged electorates in north Bengal to secure Trinamool Congress’s victory in the same number of constituencies to thwart the saffron camp’s possible ‘horse trading’ attempts.

    “I will win from Nandigram with a comfortable margin. But you will have to secure TMC’s victory in another 199 seats to protect democracy. Otherwise, the BJP will use their money power to buy traitors,” she said while addressing a rally at Dinhata in Cooch Behar where the saffron brigade performed impressively in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

    On April 1, Nandigram constituency went to polls where Mamata is contesting against her former cabinet colleague Suvendu Adhikari, who defected to the BJP.

    Reiterating her allegation against the BJP on the ‘outsider’ issue, Mamata said: “This (BJP) is a party of outsiders. A day before the second phase of the polls, they brought many people from outside and scared the voters at night. With my humble respect for the Election Commission, I must say it is working under the instruction of the Union Home Minister,” she said.

    ALSO READ | Amit Shah claims Mamata Banerjee has clearly lost the poll battle in West Bengal

    Mamata also castigated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for meeting the followers of the Matua sect in Bangladesh. Questioning the timing of Modi’s Bangladesh visit, she said, “Elections are underway and he went to Bangladesh. People in West Bengal are not fools. Everybody knows why he went to Bangladesh. This is politics of vote-bank.”

    The Matuas are a deciding factor in at least 35 Assembly constituencies and riding their support in the 2019 general elections, the BJP bagged victory in two Lok Sabha seats, Bongaon in North 24 Parganas, and Ranaghat in Nadia, the two strongholds of the Matuas.  

    Without naming the leader of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Asaduddin Owaisi and Indian Secular Front’s Abbas Siddiqui, the CM urged the minorities, SC and ST voters to stay alert from their “divisive politics”.

    “There is a leader who came from Hyderabad and one from Furfura Sharif. Don’t fall into their traps. They are here to divide people on the line of religions. My request to minorities, ST and SC voters, please don’t allow anyone to divide your votes,” she said. 

  • Bengal polls: Trinamool MP writes to official fearing disruption of ‘communal harmony’ in Nandigram

    By ANI
    KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Dibyendu Adhikari has written to the District Magistrate of East Midnapore and the District Election Officer over the security situation in Nandigram after reports of chaos during the second phase of polling and has requested to take precautionary measures in advance.

    “Considering the present political situation in the area, I personally apprehend that existing communal harmony may be blatantly disrupted…I request you to take precautionary measures in advance,” read the letter written by Adhikari on Thursday.

    “I therefore earnestly request your good office to take precautionary measures, well in advance, to maintain existing communal harmony for the greater interest of integrated and peaceful life of the people here,” his letter further read.

    TMC, on Thursday, had complained to the Election Commission that it had received a report from its representatives about Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) “jamming” eight booths in the Moyna constituency and said, “a mob of BJP workers has entered the booth”.

    The complaint said that BJP workers “are attempting to take control of EVM and are rigging the booth”.

    It had also alleged that Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) deployed at the booth had not taken any action.

    West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who talked to media persons in Nandigram after casting her vote, said that the party lodged 63 complaints with the Election Commission.

    Nandigram witnessed a high-voltage “Khela” (game of power) on Thursday in the second phase of West Bengal assembly polls and saw a direct contest between Mamata Banerjee and her former ministerial colleague Suvendu Adhikari, who had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in December last year.

    The third phase of polling will be held on April 6.