New Delhi: With just days to go before the election process for the next Lok Sabha ends, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed confidence that the BJP will emerge as the biggest gainer in West Bengal. He said the Lok Sabha election in the state had been one-sided and that Trinamool Congress leaders were “frustrated”.
In an exclusive interview to ANI, Modi spoke about his party’s performance in West Bengal in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and said the BJP would get maximum success in the state.
He said: “TMC is fighting for existence in these Bengal elections. In the Assembly election before last, we had only three seats. The people of Bengal took us from three to 80. We got a lot of support in the last Lok Sabha too. This time, the best-performing state in India for the party is going to be West Bengal. BJP is getting the most success in West Bengal.”
In 2019, the BJP made strong inroads in TMC strongholds, and won 18 seats – coming a close second to the ruling party which won 22.
The Prime Minister also said the elections in Bengal have been one-sided as the public supported the BJP. This has made the Trinamool government panicky, he added.
“There are constant murders and attacks. The BJP workers were being locked in jails before the elections. Despite all these atrocities, the public is coming out in large numbers to vote,” Modi said.
Modi also attacked the Trinamool Congress over the Calcutta High Court’s decision to cancel all OBC certificates issued in West Bengal after 2010.
He cited West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s defiance of the order, saying she was “abusing the judiciary”.
“They have a modus operandi. First, they committed the sin of giving it to minorities by making a law in Andhra Pradesh. They lost in the Supreme Court and the high court rejected it because the Constitution does not allow it. So they cleverly started a game from the back door and these people overnight turned all castes of Muslim into OBCs.”
“They robbed the OBCs of their rights… When the high court’s (Calcutta) judgement came, it became clear what a big fraud was taking place. But what is even more unfortunate is that for vote bank politics, they are also abusing the judiciary. They are even saying that no matter what happens, we are not going to listen to the court. This situation cannot be acceptable under any circumstances,” he said.
Six phases of the Lok Sabha elections are over and the final phase will be held on 1 June in 57 constituencies in eight states and Union Territories. All seats in Kolkata as well as Modi’s constituency Varanasi will vote on the last day. The results of the elections will be declared on June 4.
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.