Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday, during his second visit to Kolkata, urged West Bengal to give the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a chance in the upcoming 2021 assembly polls in the state. He also highlighted Trinamool Congress' instances of alleged corruption in West Bengal during Mamata Banerjee's regime.
Shah promised that the BJP will make 'Sonar Bangla' in five years since the party's primary aim is the development of West Bengal.
"In 2010, West Bengal gave reigns of the state to Mamata Banerjee. But 10 years down the line, their promises have been proved to be hollow and hopes of people have turned into despair," said Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The minister also played up the alleged corruption over COVID-19 management of the state's ruling party under Mamata Banerjee.
"Trinamool didn't shy away from corruption even during the COVID-19 and flood relief work," Shah said. "They have made three sets of laws in the state - one for the nephew (of Mamata Banerjee), one for their vote bank, and one for the common Bengali."
He said that West Bengal "leads in the country" when it comes to the killing of political workers.
"In last one year, 100 BJP workers have been killed, but what action has been taken?" Amit Shah asked.
The Home Minister was extremely confident about the saffron camp forming the government in West Bengal "with over 200 seats". He said, "The people who blessed us in Lok Sabha polls will again bless us."
The BJP is confident of winning 200 of 294 seats as a blueprint is being worked out by the party’s central leadership with Prime Minister Narendra Modi being the factor to woo Bengal’s voters. Shah told the media on Thursday that the party will win by 2/3rd majority in the upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal.
The veteran leader has also reportedly asked BJP party workers in Kolkata to not target Mamata Banerjee as an individual, but to attack the Trinamool Congress (TMC) as a whole.
The Mamata Banerjee-led ruling Trinamool Congress party in the state, however, is hedging its bets on alleging the BJP of being 'ignorant' of Bengal's culture and history, a part of Banerjee's gameplan to portray the saffron camp as 'outsider' to win over the popular sentiment ahead of the state assembly polls.
The battle for the West Bengal gets more fierce as BJP is determined to sweep the carpet from under the TMC’s feet and rule the corridors of power, even as the ruling party fight back with undeterred confidence of holding onto its turf.
