Amidst the Sandeshkhali controversy, which the BJP seized upon to corner the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government, the ruling party in West Bengal kickstarted its Lok Sabha poll campaign with a fervent assault on the BJP at a grand rally on Sunday at Kolkata’s famed Brigade Parade Grounds. The party supremo declared the decision to field candidates in all 42 seats for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the state.
The Trinamool Congress’s move is perceived as a setback for the INDIA alliance.
TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, who will contest from Diamond Harbour, released the candidates’ list, omitting actor-turned-politician Nusrat Jahan. During the announcement, Abhishek Banerjee revealed, “Former cricketer Yusuf Pathan will be TMC’s unexpected candidate from Baharampur.” Banerjee, along with state minister Chandrima Bhattacharya and Subrata Bakshi, launched a vehement attack on the BJP at the rally, and as anticipated, Mahua Moitra will contest from Krishnagar.
Abhishek emphasized, “‘Modi ki guarantee’ has zero warranty; corrupt individuals are aligning with the BJP.” Bhattacharya labeled the saffron party as ‘anti-woman’.
The West Bengal Chief Minister firmly stated her opposition to NRC in the state, asserting, “They are attempting to deactivate Aadhar cards to deport people to Bangladesh or detain them. Such actions will not be tolerated in Bengal. They label any Sikh person as ‘Khalistani’ or a minority person as a Pakistani. We don’t engage in such behavior. Everyone is our brethren. Not a single BJP leader visited Manipur during its turmoil. Yet, they flock here, making accusations. We call on everyone to give them a fitting response in the upcoming elections,” declared the TMC supremo.
Criticizing the Centre for withholding funds for the Rural Guaranteed Employment scheme and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Mamata conveyed, “We seek people’s power to demonstrate that Bengal will not yield to their caprices. We assure you that if we managed 45 job days and made payments from our own resources, we will extend it to 50 days in the future.”
She added, “We will construct homes for those left out under the PMAY scheme by next May. Modi keeps coming to Bengal, alleging that Trinamool Congress has seized all central funds. I will substantiate, with accounts, that they haven’t disbursed a single rupee for three fiscal years since their defeat in the 2021 Assembly elections. If they never sent money, what exactly was Trinamool usurping?”
Expressing gratitude to Mamata Banerjee for welcoming him into TMC, Yusuf Pathan stated, “I’m eternally grateful to Smt @MamataOfficial for embracing me into the TMC family and entrusting me with the responsibility to be the people’s voice in Parliament. As representatives, our duty is to uplift the poor and deprived, which I hope to achieve,” as conveyed in a post on X.
In the morning, before the mega rally at Brigade Parade Grounds, lakhs of supporters and numerous block-level leaders from various districts flocked to hear their leader, affectionately called ‘Didi.’
The TMC’s choice of ramps instead of conventional rally setups aims to facilitate closer interaction between leaders and supporters during speeches. The interconnected stages, linked by ramps, seek to enhance engagement and connect with the grassroots. In contrast, the BJP dismissed the TMC’s program as the party’s ‘farewell rally.’
Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari disparaged TMC’s leaders as “goons and corrupt,” foreseeing their ‘impending downfall.’ The BJP plans to counter with a rally in Sandeshkhali, where allegations of sexual abuse against TMC leaders have surfaced.
Amidst the ongoing Sandeshkhali row, BJP MP Dilip Ghosh accused the TMC-led West Bengal government of attempting to “Save” Sheikh Shahjahan.
He asserted, “The state ruling party was compelled to arrest him, but they attempted to shield him from the court. Now, they are trying to conceal his documents, including his mobile phone. However, the ED and CBI have initiated investigations, and clarity will emerge.”
Sheikh stands accused of sexual abuse, land-grabbing in Bengal’s Sandeshkhali, and attacking an ED team, presently under CBI custody.
Dilip Ghosh, tearing into the Mamata-led government over allegations of “sexual abuse” and “land grab” in Sandeshkhali, accused the ruling party of sheltering criminals and rapists scattered in “every nook and corner” of the state. He lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for transforming the status of Kashmir post-abrogation of Article 370, asserting that if the PM could cool the Kashmir issue, he could swiftly address the ongoing Bengal concerns in just 2 minutes.