With less than six months to go until Bengal’s crucial 2021 assembly elections, Trinamool’s ruling Congress is desperately trying to brand its main rival, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as an outsider in the state, as it tries to push forward. his own connection to voters.
“Some people come just before the election and come back after making big claims. But I stay here, not only during Chhath Puja, but also during Durga Puja, Christsman and Eid. This is my parampara, ”Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said earlier this week, adding that people should not be afraid of outsiders.
The BJP responded by saying that Banerjee’s statements indicate that she has taken it for granted that West Bengal has become West Bangladesh, where people need to present documents to enter the state.
The TMC has increased its bet against the BJP on this front, even more so after the latter sent five of its central leaders, from other states, to take stock of the party’s preparation in the state.
“What happened to the presidents of your districts? Why did they need to parachute leaders from out of state? “questioned veteran TMC leader and minister Partha Chatterjee.
“Have things gotten so low that Bengal and the Bengalis will bow down to them? Should Bengalis accept that the leaders of other states are imposed on them? “said Minister of State Bratya Basu.
Basu also said that outsiders who do not know Rabindranath Tagore are dictating terms to the people of the state. “We had seen how the violence perpetrated by them led to the desecration of the bust of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (during the Lok Sabha poll campaign in May 2019),” added Basu.
Leaders of the BJP state unit said the CM was doing more harm to Bengalis by trying to project some people as outsiders. “More than four million Bengalis are working in other states. What if they are labeled as outsiders and asked to return to Bengal? Will Mamata Banerjee be able to provide them with work? Have you taken for granted that the state of West Bengal has become West Bangladesh? Do we need to produce documents to enter Bengal as it was done in Kashmir? “Dilip Ghosh, head of the BJP state unit, had told reporters on Saturday.
Meanwhile, in an attempt to build its own connection with the people, the state administration has announced a program, Duare Duare Paschim Banga Sarkar (West Bengal government at every door) to address people’s complaints. “Party leaders have been asked to increase their connection with the local population living in cities and towns. Every Saturday, the leaders will visit towns and cities. They would take the local administration with them. This would not only create a local connection, but would also help address complaints on the spot, ”said a TMC senior minister.
Ridiculing the show, the BJP said that TMC leaders should also take the local police with them as people were upset with them.
Encouraged by its impressive advances in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, where the BJP won 40% of the vote in Bengal and won 18 out of 42 seats in the state, the party is now looking to the state assembly. “The BJP had sent its central leaders to the state. They have done their job and have returned while the state unit continues to work on land. But the TMC is so terrified that they are still talking about the central leaders, “Ghosh said.
The party is targeting at least 200 of the 294 seats in the House and is putting together its largest electoral machine in the state. Top BJP state officials said party leaders will come to Bengal from Delhi and other states to work with the local unit for the elections. They would be part of a 45-member team that will be established for each constituency with the help of existing district committees.
.
