News Analysis India

Tag: West Bengal Polls 2021

  • PM Modi to address rally at Bengal’s Brigade ground on March 7; suspense over Mithun Chakraborty’s presence continues

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will sharpen BJP’s campaign for the high-octane assembly elections in West Bengal with a mega rally at the Brigade Parade Grounds here on Sunday.

    The Prime Minister’s Sunday rally is said to be culmination of the “Parivartan Yatra” launched by the saffron party in the poll-bound Bengal in February this year.

    “Prime Minister will set the tone of the election campaign with a rally at Brigade grounds,” a BJP leader said.

    Sunday’s rally will be the first major event of the saffron party in West Bengal after declaration of eight-phase elections in the state.

    The BJP has planned to make it a grand success with a record crowd presence which the iconic ground has never witnessed.

    The BJP which was scheduled to come out with the candidate list for the first two phases on Friday had decided to postpone it for the brigade rally.

    “We have decided to postpone the release of the candidate list for the brigade rally. Once it is over, we would come out with our list,” BJP leader Rahul Sinha said.

    Along with Modi several top senior BJP leaders will be present at the rally.

    According to BJP sources, the rally might also throw up surprises as a few noted personalities including Bollywood actor Mithun Chakraborty might be present on the dais.

    “He may be present at the rally tomorrow. Let’s see what happens,” a senior BJP leader said.

    BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, however, said nothing has been discussed regarding Chakraborty’s joining the saffron camp.

    Once considered close to the CPI(M), Chakraborty was Rajya Sabha MP for the TMC for few years, before resigning expressing desire to quit politics.

    The BJP has gone all out to campaign for the rally launching innovative campaigns, from social media to the streets.

    The party activists have been hosting flash mobs over the past few weeks at several locations across the state, including busy traffic intersections and crowded localities to rally a large number of people at the Sunday event.

    After having a limited presence in the politically polarised state for decades, the BJP has emerged as the ruling Trinamool Congress’s main rival by winning 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal 2019 general elections,only four less than TMC’s tally of 22.

    With the BJP’s strength increasing in the state in the last few years, its leaders are upbeat that the party will end Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s 10-year rule in the state polls.

    Elections for the West Bengal assembly will be held in eight phases beginning with polling for 30 seats on March 27.

    West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already drawn the battleline with declaration of TMC candidate list Friday.

    Banerjee, who heads Trinamool Congress, announced names of 291 candidates and left three seats for the ally Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) in Darjeeling.

    Congress-Left Front-Indian Secular Front of the Muslim cleric Abbas Siddiqui have joined hands to challenge the TMC as well as the BJP in the battle for Bengal.

  • ‘He is ungrateful’: TMC on former party MP Dinesh Trivedi joining BJP ahead of Bengal polls

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Slamming its former Rajya Sabha MP Dinesh Trivedi for switching over to the BJP, the Trinamool Congress on Saturday said he is “ungrateful” and has backstabbed the ruling party in West Bengal ahead of the assembly polls.

    Trivedi quit from the upper House of Parliament last month, saying he was feeling suffocated in the Trinamool Congress and was unable to bear various incidents that are happening in the state.

    Earlier in the day, he joined the BJP at its headquarters in New Delhi in the presence of saffron party president J P Nadda.

    Reacting to the development, Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “For the last so many years, he (Trivedi) did not say anything. Now, just before the state assembly polls, he has made complaints about the party. He is ungrateful and has betrayed people of the state.”

    “He held several posts of the party and was entrusted with many responsibilities. At a time when he should repay the Trinamool Congress, he has backstabbed it,” Ghosh said.

    Trivedi was once a close confidant of West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee and was her choice for holding the important railway ministry portfolio in the Union Cabinet during the UPA government.

    Echoing Ghosh, Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP Sougata Roy said, “People like Trivedi enjoy power during their tenure and leave a party at the time of elections.”

    Several TMC leaders have quit the party in recent months to join the BJP as the saffron party mounts an aggressive all-out campaign to end Banerjee’s 10-year-old reign in the state.

    Apart from Trivedi, two former state ministers – Suvendu Adhikari and Rajib Banerjee – had quit the Trinamool Congress and switched over to the BJP recently.

    Since the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, 19 TMC MLAs and a Lok Sabha MP of the party had joined the BJP.

    Elections to 294 assembly seats in West Bengal will be held in eight phases, beginning on March 27.

    Votes will be counted on May 2.

  • TMC’s Shibpur MLA Jatu Lahiri quits party after being dropped from candidate list

    By PTI
    HOWRAH: Upset over not being nominated this time, TMC’s Shibpur MLA Jatu Lahiri announced on Saturday that he has resigned from the party.

    Talking to reporters, Lahiri said that despite being a “loyal soldier” of the TMC he was ignored by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

    “More than not getting the nomination, I am hurt that an outsider having no links with the electorate has got the nomination just days after being inducted into the party. It seems we are not required by the TMC anymore. I am leaving the organisation,” he said.

    TMC has nominated former cricketer Manoj Tiwary from the Shibpur seat in Howrah.

    Lahiri, a veteran politician, also hinted that he may join the BJP.

    However, BJP sources said that there was no information about Lahiri joining the party.

    Lahiri is one of the several TMC MLAs and leaders who have voiced their anguish over being dropped from the party’s candidate list for the upcoming assembly elections.

    Among them are Satgachia MLA Sonali Guha, Basirhat Dakshin MLA Dipendu Biswas, Singur MLA Rabindranath Bhattacharjee, former Bhangar MLA Arabul Islam and Barrackpore civic body chief Uttam Das.

  • TMC, Left candidates begin campaigning for West Bengal Assembly elections

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress and Left candidates kick-started their campaigns for the West Bengal elections on Saturday.

    While the TMC announced the list of candidates for 291 seats on Friday, the Left named nominees for 39 seats that are going to polls in the first phase.

    TMC’s Ashokenagar candidate Dhiman Roy began door-to- door campaigning in the morning.

    The party’s Jadavpur candidate Debabrata Majumdar also visited the voters in the area.

    CPI(M)’s Jhargram nominee Madhuja Sen Roy also campaigned in her constituency.

    In Behala, TMC supporters were seen busy painting wall graffitis in the support of the party’s two candidates from the area — Partha Chatterjee (Behala West) and Ratha Chatterjee (Behala East).

    Ratna, who has been fielded by the TMC from the constituency of her estranged husband and BJP leader Sovan Chatterjee, began her campaigning by offering puja at her Parnasree home.

    “I will give my best efforts to win this seat. We all are working to make Mamata Banerjee our chief minister for the third time,” she said.

    Exuding confidence, TMC’s Labhpur candidate Abhijit Singha said it appeared that there was no opponent against him.

    “Last time, the party won by a margin of around 4,500 votes. Lets see what happens this time,” the leader from Birbhum said.

    West Bengal will be voting in eight phases, beginning on March 27.

    Votes will be counted on May 2.

  • Karnataka minister Aravind Limbavali off to West Bengal to ramp up poll campaign

    By Express News Service
    BENGALURU: Bengaluru to Bengal. Forests, Kannada and Culture Minister and Mahadevapura MLA Aravind Limbavali will soon be taking a flight out to the East Coast, where a bitter battle is brewing for the land of Rabindra. There, he will be part of the election campaign team for the BJP, which has raised the stakes and is making an aggressive bid to win power.    Limbavali’s claim to any influence over the traditionally leftist voters of West Bengal is that his constituency is home to around 20,000 Bengalis, including 5,600 registered voters. Mahadevapura is one of the major IT pockets of Silicon City. 

    Sources in Limbavali’s office said the minister has already completed two meetings with the Bengali population in his constituency, and appealed to them to vote for the BJP and also put in a word to their relatives and friends back home.Limbavali, known to be a sharp election strategist, will be attending a party meeting called by BJP National President JP Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Saturday. 

    On Friday, Limbavali, who was in Kalaburagi on an official tour, was told to attend a meeting in Delhi. One leader from each state will be part of the campaign team for West Bengal. He and a few others will be given two or three assembly seats to work on.With the Karnataka budget session going on, Limbavali is expected to make frequent visits to Bengal in the middle of the session, especially during weekends. Many ministers and leaders from Karnataka, including National General Secretary CT Ravi, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, Deputy CM Ashwath Narayan, and Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Chandrashekar are associated with South Indian states and territories. 

  • West Bengal will have a BJP CM on May 3: Tejasvi Surya

    By ANI
    BENGALURU: Bharatiya Janata Party MP Tejasvi Surya said on Thursday that Mamata Banerjee’s days as West Bengal Chief Minister are numbered and that the BJP will win more than 200 seats in the state in the upcoming elections.

    “BJP will win more than 200 seats in West Bengal. Mamata Banerjee’s days as a chief minister are numbered. On the 3rd of May, West Bengal will have a BJP chief minister,” said Surya.

    “This is the legacy of the communists which Mamata Banerjee has carried forward but there will be no more bloodshed and political murder politics in West Bengal because BJP will have its chief minister,” he added talking about the vote share of BJP in upcoming assembly polls of West Bengal and Kerala.

    West Bengal, which goes to polls between March 27 and April 29, is likely to witness a triangular contest this time with Trinamool Congress (TMC), Congress-Left alliance and the BJP in the fray.

    Talking about the issues raised by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on the Enforcement Directorate, the BJP Yuva Morcha chief said, “Those who have done no wrong have nothing to hide or fear.”

    Over Tamil Nadu polls, Surya said BJP is confident of a strong NDA performance in the state.

    “We are sure that there will be a repeat of AIDMK performance as last time. Chinnamma’s blessing on the AIDMK will help the NDA cause further,” the 30-year-old said. 

  • TMC holds meet with ward presidents ahead of assembly elections

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Ahead of the West Bengal assembly election, Trinamool Congress leaders held a meeting with ward presidents and coordinators in Kolkata on Thursday.

    Party leaders Abhishek Banerjee, Partha Chatterjee among those present in the meeting at TMC Bhawan in Kolkata.

    The agenda of the meeting was to make the wards stronger. The party decided to put more flags and hoardings in the areas.

    The Central Election Committee of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is also scheduled to meet today and is likely to finalise its first list of candidates for Assembly polls in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.

    West Bengal Assembly elections will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting taking place on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.

    West Bengal is likely to witness a triangular contest this time with TMC, Congress-Left alliance and the BJP in the fray. 

  • Sena not to contest Bengal polls, stands in solidarity with ‘real tigress’ Mamata Banerjee

    By ANI
    MUMBAI: Wishing ‘roaring’ success to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Maharashtra Chief Minister Udhhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena party has decided not to contest the West Bengal Assembly polls, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut announced on Thursday.

    The decision was taken after a discussion with Thackeray.

    Raut, who on January 17 had said Shiv Sena will contest the West Bengal Assembly Elections, on Thursday said the party will stand in solidarity with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

    “A lot of people are curious to know whether Shiv Sena is contesting West Bengal Polls or not? So here’s the update after discussions with Party President Uddhav ji Thackeray. Looking at the present scenario, it appears like a ‘Didi Vs All’ fight. All ‘M’s – Money, Muscle and Media are being used against ‘Mamata Didi. Hence, Shivsena has decided not to contest West Bengal polls and stand in solidarity with her. We wish Mamata Didi a ‘roaring’ success, ‘cos we believe She is the real Bengal Tigress !!,” Raut posted a picture containing the text on Twitter.

    West Bengal is likely to witness a triangular contest this time with TMC, Congress-Left alliance and the BJP in the fray.

    Elections for the 294 Assembly seats in West Bengal will begin on March 27. The state is set to witness eight-phase Assembly polls this year.  

  • Bengali actor Sayantika Banerjee joins TMC ahead of West Bengal Assembly polls

    By ANI
    KOLKATA: Bengali actor Sayantika Banerjee on Wednesday joined the ruling (TMC), ahead of Assembly elections in West Bengal.

    She joined the TMC in presence of party leader and West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee and other leaders.

    Sayantika Banerjee said, “I was with Didi for the past 10 years but today I officially joined TMC. I request the people of Bengal to be with us and Didi. We know Bangla wants Bengali.”

    Earlier on Tuesday, Bengali actor Srabanti Chatterjee joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kolkata. Bengali actor Yash Dasgupta has also joined BJP along with several other Tollywood actors including Papiya Adhikari and Mallika Banerjee.

    West Bengal Assembly elections will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting taking place on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.

    West Bengal is likely to witness a triangular contest this time with TMC, Congress-Left alliance and the BJP in the fray.  

  • Tejashwi Yadav won’t make any difference in Bengal Assembly polls: Kailash Vijayvargiya

    By ANI
    KOLKATA: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya on Tuesday said that Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav will not make any difference in the West Bengal Assembly polls because people will vote for BJP due to their faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    This comes a day after Yadav promised to give his full support to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the coming assembly polls in the state.

    “Before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Mamata Banerjee projected herself as Prime Ministerial candidate by calling leaders from all parties on a stage in Kolkata. Inspite of this, the people of Bengal did not vote for her. Tejashwi Yadav or anybody will not make any difference in West Bengal polls because people have faith in Narendra Modi and want a government under his leadership,” Vijayvargiya told ANI here.

    The BJP made deep inroads in the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections winning 18 seats and reducing TMC’s tally to 22. Out of the total 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal, Congress won two seats, the Left drew a blank.

    When asked about the infighting between Congress leaders over the party’s alliance with Furfura Sharif’s Indian Secular Front (ISF), Vijayvargiya said, “I don’t want to comment on Congress’ infighting. It is their own fight. Relations don’t get stronger when there is a fight for selfish needs.”

    “An alliance based on greed doesn’t last long. It’s alarming that Congress, CPM and TMC are going to any length for appeasement politics. They are getting exposed in the process,” he added.

    Vijayvargiya, BJP’s central observer for West Bengal, also spoke about PM Modi’s scheduled rally in Kolkata on March 7 and the party’s prospects.

    “BJP is going among the masses with the message of ‘sabka saath, saabka vikas’. Narendra Modi’s upcoming rally will be the biggest rally in the history of West Bengal,” he said.

    BJP functionaries including Kailash Vijayvargiya, national General Secretary, Mukul Roy national Vice-President, Sanjay Singh, General Secretary and Swapan Dasgupta, MP, Rajya Sabha are looking into the preparations at Brigade Parade Ground, Kolkata where PM Modi will address a public meeting on March 7.

    This will be PM Modi’s first rally in West Bengal post the announcement of election dates by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

    Meanwhile, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta along with other BJP leaders met the Election Commission seeking clarification on the status of administrators of 124 municipalities and 477 corporations “whose term has ended but most of them are being run by administrators, who are not actually administrators but political appointees. They are still continuing.”

    “Does the model code of conduct apply to them? We believe it does and must be adhered to by them. We demanded that these so-called administrators must be replaced by people who are answerable to the government. These people are not accountable to the government. Various ward offices in the municipal and corporations are being run as political parties offices. We urge the commission to ensure that this does not happen,” Dasgupta said.

    West Bengal Assembly elections will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting taking place on April 29. Counting of votes will take place on May 2.