Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday started her poll campaign from South Kolkata’s Chetla area and said that she is happy to contest from Bhabanipur constituency.
“May be people of Bhabanipur wanted me to contest from this seat. South Kolkata has been always lucky for TMC as once when CPI (M) through unscrupulous means won 41 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats, the only seat that TMC managed to win was South Kolkata constituency,” said Mamata.
Addressing the TMC workers convention, Mamata urged that everyone should work hard to make TMC win the poll.
“No one should sit idle thinking that didi will win. I cannot go door-to-door much so the party people should do it on behalf of me. Advocate Baishanor Chattopadhyay will be my election agent,” added the TMC supremo also asking the people to stay calm.
Mamata also urged TMC supporters to ensure that everyone votes because in bypoll generally the turnout is less.
Thanking Shobhandeb Chattopadhyay, who had resigned from Bhabanipur constituency for the TMC supremo, Mamata said that he will contest from Khardah Assembly constituency.
“He had resigned for me. He will continue as a minister. Everybody wanted me to contest for which I have agreed. A conspiracy was hatched against me in Nandigram. I visited one booth and protested as the number of votes was more than the voters. Since it is in court won’t speak much on it,” claimed Mamata Banerjee also mentioning that she will file her nomination on September 10.
Slamming the BJP-led Central government, Mamata said that through agencies and muscle power TMC was heckled during the Assembly polls and also that after the bypoll date was announced the BJP through agencies is again heckling the TMC leaders.
Without naming Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari for not attending CID’s call, Mamata alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are making the agencies run behind TMC leaders as they cannot fight TMC politically.
“They cannot fight politically so they use agencies. This is how they had stopped the Congress. In BJP ruled states, the TMC is not allowed to enter but this cannot go on for long and we all will unite for 2024 polls,” said Mamata.
It can be recalled that when Mamata Banerjee had said that she will contest from Nandigram, the saffron camp leaders took to social media and said that she should contest only from Nandigram and not Bhabanipur after which the TMC supremo left Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay to contest the poll.
West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh said that this bypoll "is between state government, BJP and Left Front and Congress is not a factor’.
