Kolkata: Amidst Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s claim that BJP leaders are ‘outsider’, the BJP even during the bypoll campaign was seen focusing on BJP central leaders than the state counterpart.
From Union Minister Smriti Irani, Hardeep Singh Puri to BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra and central leader Manoj Tiwari was seen lanes and bylanes of Bhabanipur constituency along with BJP candidate Priyanka Tibrewal for bypoll campaign.
Notably, several central leaders including BJP Chief Ministers along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were seen visiting parts of West Bengal during the poll campaign of Assembly poll and were also heard speaking in broken Bengali to woo the voters.
Slamming them the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that they are ‘outsiders’ and ‘doesn’t understand the sentiments of Bengalis’.
Countering TMC Supremo’s claim, while campaigning for Priyanka, Smriti Irani was heard saying that Bhabanipur is the house of Gujrati, Punjabi, Marwari along with Bengali.
“Bhabanipur is the house of several non Bengali people for ages and still then the TMC Supremo claims that they are outsiders. My mom is also a Bengali but for Mamata didi even I am an outsider. After the vote is over the TMC Supremo will not recognize the Bengalis even,” alleged the Union Minister.
Notably, not just during the Assembly poll campaigning, but also during the bypoll campaign Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee time and again takes names of Bengali saints and chants versus by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore to show that she is the ‘daughter of the soil’.
It can be recalled that after poll strategist Prashant Kishor’s name featured in Bhabanipur voter list, the BJP had also countered ‘outsider’ claim sarcastically.
According to poll analysts, the BJP central faces are more popular for which they are utilized during the poll.
“Those state leaders who are prominent including Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adikari are put to campaigning and celebrities like Smriti Irani, Manoj Tiwari are also sent for campaigning,” mentioned the analysts.
