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Yashwant Sinha asserted that loss of BJP in Bengal would send a message of assurance across the nation & Mamata Banerjee will win the third term

A day after joining the Trinamool Congress, former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha said today that the BJP must lose the upcoming West Bengal Assembly election and that loss will send a nationwide “message of assurance”. Asserting that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s party will retain the state with a thumping majority, he said that he had thrown his lot in with her without any preconditions.

Also See: West Bengal 2021: Battleground for BJP and TMC

“I joined the TMC to strengthen her (Mamata Banerjee’s) hands…She is fighting her battle, she is fighting the battle of Bengal. She is also fighting for the nation. This Bengal election, because of the hype the BJP has created around it, has suddenly become an election of national importance,” said Mr Sinha.

“Therefore it is very important that Mamata wins and the BJP loses in Bengal. It will send a nationwide message of assurance,” the former BJP leader said.

Also see: Trilateral fight in West Bengal election 2021

Having quit his earlier party, the BJP, in 2018, his joining the Trinamool weeks ahead of the Assembly polls is being viewed as a key victory for an outfit that has seen a steady outflow of both leaders and cadres in the past few months.

He referred to the injury sustained by Ms Banerjee in Nandigram, implying that it goes with her reputation as a fighter since the early 1990s.

“Despite the falsehoods, which has been sought to be spread by the BJP and other adversaries of Mamata Banerjee, the fact of the matter is that she is hurt. That her leg is in a plaster cast. She is unable to move. She is hurt at many other places also. And she is still campaigning in this condition,” he said.” So it is quite natural, this will evoke the sympathy of the people,” he said.

Also See: Would West Bengal election really be a three-way fight after the defections?

Asked how his joining the Trinamool makes a difference at this juncture, Mr Sinha said that was not for him to assess as “all this happened rather quickly”. He then spelt out the sequence of unexpected events that led to his shift, concluding that “within a day everything was tied up”.

Coming down to voting patterns in the state, he said that Ms. Banerjee and the Trinamool have their appeal across all sections, which includes the minorities. “Minorities have always voted wisely. They will do so this time, too,” he said.

He did not give much importance to film star Mithun Chakraborty joining the BJP recently, adding, “The biggest star in West Bengal is Mamata Banerjee herself. There is no other star who can come anywhere near her.”

Also See: What are the problem areas of TMC and the chances of BJP in this election season in West Bengal

The former Union Minister once again narrated Ms Banerjee’s role during the Kandahar hijack episode of the late 1990s. Immediately after joining Trinamool, he had said that she had offered herself as a hostage to the Taliban in exchange for the passengers of the hijacked plane.

To a question whether the Trinamool and Ms. Banerjee can unite the opposition, he said that the victory in the upcoming polls will add to her importance among the nation’s many leaders.

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Yashwant Sinha said that Election Commission and judiciary have become weak & the attack on Mamata was the tipping point

YS

Campaigns prior to the election in West Bengal are getting pithier with each passing day.

Yashwant Sinha’s addition to the TMC has given a shot in the arm for the campaigners for Mamata Banerjee. At a conference in Kolkata, Sinha told reporters that the way the current BJP-government has usurped the democratic process and institutions across the country is very problematic. He added that the bodies like Election Commission and judiciary have also succumbed to it.  He also stressed that Vajpayee as PM laid importance on consensus building.

Also See: Would West Bengal election really be a three-way fight after the defections?

Addressing a press conference at TMC Bhawan, Sinha said, “You must be surprised why at this age, when I had distanced myself from party politics, why I am joining a party and turning active. I would like to say that the country is going through an extraordinary situation. The strength of democracy lies in the institutions of democracy. Today mostly all institutions have become weak. This includes the judiciary too, unfortunately”.

He added, “Nobody is there to put a stop to the government’s whimsical behaviour. You can see what is happening in the country and nobody seems to be worried. Farmers are sitting at the borders, migrant workers are forced to walk back home. Health, education everything is in doldrums. The aim of the ruling party seems to be to win elections somehow. There is a lot of difference between Atal (Bihari Vajpayee) ji’s party and the one of today. Atal ji believed in consensus, today’s government believes in crushing”.

Also See: What are the problem areas of TMC and the chances of BJP in this election season in West Bengal

The former Finance Minister said that he had a meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and has discussed various issues.

Sinha further added, “The tipping point was the attack on Mamata. That was the moment of decision to join the TMC.” He also highlighted that the defeat of BJP in West Bengal would lead to their fall in Delhi in 2024, the year of real paribartan.

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Suvendu Adhikari filed nomination from Nandigram Assembly constituency in a fight against Mamata Banerjee

Suvendu Adhikari

On Friday, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari filed his nomination from the Nandigram Assembly constituency against his mentor-turned-opponent Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee. He said that he was “100 percent” confident of his win. Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Smriti Irani also took part in the rally before Adhikari filed the nomination papers. “I am 100 percent confident of my victory in Nandigram. The people of the area are with me. I am the son of the soil,” he told reporters.

Also See: Would West Bengal election really be a three-way fight after the defections?

The Battle for Nandigram has got sharpened with the face-off between Mamata and Suvendu, with Mamata suffering an injury at the Birulia Bazaar few days back. Two days after CM Mamata Banerjee suffered an injury in Nandigram, a TMC-delegation of six MPs in a formal complaint to the Election Commission alleged a “deep-rooted BJP conspiracy” behind the attack and asked for an “immediate and unbiased” investigation of the same. The delegation included TMC MPs Dereck O’Brien, Saugata Roy, Satabdi Roy, Kakoli G. Dastidar, Pratima Mondal and Santanu Sen.

On the same day (March 12), Mamata Banerjee was released from the hospital with the doctors stating that CM Banerjee had responded well to treatment and that they have given certain medical advice to her during her release.

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TMC vs BJP-Giving too much attention on criticizing a non-existential opponent can cause problem

TMC vs BJP

Politically saying, the Left front has been largely decimated nationally and in the state of West Bengal after the 2011 state election, though it has a hold in Kerala.

Mamata Banerjee had come to power in the state Assembly in Kolkata in the landmark election of 2011, which dismounted the 34 years-old rule of the Left front. After that, the TMC was expected to solve the problems left by the Left front. But, something different began to happen along with some landmark achievements in terms of policy like the UN-recognized Kanyashri scheme.

From 2013-14 onwards, leaders of TMC led by CM Banerjee have repeatedly & staunchly said no to the question, whether TMC would come to support BJP. But, more importantly, TMC kept concentrating its attacks on BJP, which was a poor fourth in the state with nil presence. In the 2011 election, BJP had not won a single seat, while its then alliance partner, GJM had won three seats. The GJM is currently supporting the TMC. But, instead of focusing on West Bengal, TMC kept its barrage of criticisms directed towards the saffron camp, which has now managed to have many leaders like Suvendu Adhikari, Rajeeb Banerjee & Baishali Dalmiya switched over to the saffron camp.

Also See: What are the problem areas of TMC and the chances of BJP in this election season in West Bengal

After the fallout of the partition in 1947, the higher caste populace has largely shifted towards the urban circles in West Bengal. This apart from the mental biases has kept the caste divide alive on a demographical scale in the state over the decades. The issues of unemployment & deindustrialization which were the hallmarks of the later years of the Left front rule have aggravated over the years, especially after 2014-15, since when the national economy also gradually started losing its sheen. Both of the issues had caused a large number of unemployed youth to move into Syndicate mafia, which was again the baby of the Left rule.

The drumbeating of BJP about the Gujarat model, which has its own myriad fallacies & assumption biases, has managed to turn the debate towards the issue of industrialization in Bengal. It should concern TMC that as they were focused on criticizing BJP, that very thing allowed the attention to be on the saffron camp, and it used the political muscle it had gained after the 2014 & 2019 election victories to make inroads into Bengal polity much to the chagrin of TMC.

Also See: Would West Bengal election really be a three-way fight after the defections?

The upcoming Bengal election in the form of TMC vs BJP will test the political acumen of TMC against the surge of the saffron camp. The Left and the Congress are fighting the Bengal election jointly, along with the Indian Secular Front or ISF.

Elections to the 294-seated West Bengal assembly will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting taking place on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.

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Aishe Ghosh, Chief of the students’ union of the Jawaharlal Nehru University will fight the Bengal election for CPI(M)

Chief of the students’ union of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Aishe Ghosh, will contest the assembly election in West Bengal as a CPI (M) candidate. She is the first sitting president of JNU’s students’ union to contest in an assembly election.

The CPI (M) has given Ms Ghosh the Jamuria seat to contest from. She will be backed by the Sanyukt Morcha.

“Will be contesting from Jamuria Legislative Assembly Seat as candidate of the CPI(M) ,supported by the Sanyukt Morcha.Requesting all of your support,” she tweeted this morning.

Also See: Would West Bengal election really be a three-way fight after the defections?

Aishe Ghosh was badly injured in a brutal attack on students and teachers on the JNU campus in January last year. The sight of Ms Ghosh with blood streaming down her face became the defining image of the JNU violence when close to 70 people, their faces masked, entered the campus with sledgehammers, iron rods, and glass bottles, and beat students and teachers.

The violence on the university campus had made headlines, triggering protests across the country.

Also See: What are the problem areas of TMC and the chances of BJP in this election season in West Bengal

The Left and the Congress are fighting the Bengal election jointly, along with the Indian Secular Front or ISF. While the Left Front announced the names of candidates for the first two phases on March 5, it came up with the names for most seats allotted to it for the remaining six phases on Wednesday.

Elections to 294-member West Bengal assembly will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting taking place on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.

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Nandigram’s incident was an accident, says the report submitted to the Election Commission

Mamata Banerjee

The Nandigram’s incident that resulted in an injury to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was an accident, according to preliminary police findings submitted to the Election Commission on Thursday.

The report claimed to have arrived at its conclusion via video footage and accounts of local police and eyewitnesses, including Trinamool Congress members. It says that the chief minister was hurt when her car, while maneuvering through a crowded bazaar area, hit a small iron pillar.

CM Banerjee, who enjoys a Z+ security cover (highest level), was waving at people with her car door open. She hurt her feet as the car door was slammed shut after hitting the pillar on the narrow street, the report states.

Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday (March 10) suffered injuries to her left leg while campaigning in Nandigram and was rushed to Kolkata for treatment. In a video from SSKM hospital, where she is undergoing treatment, CM Banerjee has urged people to remain calm.

In response to the Nandigram incident, a delegation from the TMC had submitted a complaint to the Election Commission.

The complaint added, “Within 24 hours of the removal of the erstwhile DGP, an attempt on Ms. Mamata Banerjee’s life was made in Nandigram this evening. She was on the campaign trail and filed her nomination this afternoon. At the time of the assault neither the Superintendent of Police nor the local police was present to give her security cover, even though she is a Z Plus protectee.”

Responding to the letter sent by Trinamool Congress, the Election Commission of India has said that it was unfortunate that the letter was “full of insinuations and averments”.

“Completely incorrect to suggest that Commission has taken over law and order machinery in the state in the name of conducting elections and appropriated whole governance structure,” ECI said, adding that the incident was “indeed unfortunate” and needs to be inquired into with “promptitude and dispatch”.

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Response of Election Commission of India to complaint from TMC over injury to Mamata stated that the letter was full of insinuations and averments

ECI-TMC

Seemingly, the Election Commission of India is getting entangled in the political snafu, in the context of West Bengal election 2021, after the Nandigram incident, where CM Mamata Banerjee was injured.

Responding to the letter sent by Trinamool Congress over the Nandigram incident in which West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was injured yesterday, the Election Commission of India said that it was unfortunate that the letter was “full of insinuations and averments”.

“Completely incorrect to suggest that Commission has taken over law and order machinery in the state in the name of conducting elections and appropriated whole governance structure,” the poll body said, adding that the incident was “indeed unfortunate” and needs to be inquired into with “promptitude and dispatch”.

Also See: Would West Bengal election really be a three-way fight after the defections?

The poll body’s response comes after TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee held it responsible for the lapse in security of Mamata. A TMC delegation of Derek O’Brian, Chandrima Bhattacharya and Partha Chatterjee submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission in Kolkata.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry, complying with the Election Commission’s orders, will mask pictures of Modi on vaccine certificates in poll-bound states. Earlier this month, the ECI had asked the Union Government to stop using PM’s picture on Covid-19 vaccination certificates in states headed for Assembly elections, following a complaint by the Trinamool Congress.

Also See: What are the problem areas of TMC and the chances of BJP in this election season in West Bengal

Preliminary medical tests conducted on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee late on Wednesday night detected severe bone injuries in her left ankle and foot, and injuries in the right shoulder, forearm and neck, a senior doctor of the state-run SSKM hospital said.

Trinamool Congress had slammed the Election Commission for failing to provide security to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was injured during election campaign in Nandigram, and said that the ECI cannot shun responsibility as it is in charge of law and order situation in the poll-bound West Bengal.

In a video message, Mamata urged people to remain calm and said that she will return to election campaigning in the next two to three days. Mamata said that she will use wheelchair for campaigning if needed.

Meanwhile, the Congress has released the list of 25 constituencies, where they will be contesting in the upcoming assembly election in Tamil Nadu. Out of the 25, the grand old party will face the BJP directly in five seats.

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Y+ security given to Mithun Chakraborty through the SSG under CISF which now protects 104 VIPs

Y+ security given to Mithun Chakraborty

Centre has accorded ‘Y+’ VIP security cover to actor Mithun Chakraborty who recently joined BJP, official sources said.

The security cover will be provided by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) that has a dedicated wing for this task, called the special security group (SSG).

The 70-year-old actor had joined the BJP on Sunday at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mega rally at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata.

Also See: Would West Bengal election really be a three-way fight after the defections?

“Chakraborty has been given a ‘Y+’ cover and armed CISF commandos will accompany him during poll campaign in West Bengal,” a senior officer said.

BJP MP from Jharkhand Nishikant Dubey will also be accorded with a similar cover that involves about 4-5 armed commandos protecting the person.

With these new inductions, the CISF now protects a total of 104 VIPs, including National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

Also See: West Bengal 2021: Battleground for BJP and TMC

West Bengal will go to polls in 8 phases on March 27, April 1, April 6, April 10, April 17, April 22, April 26 and April 29, making it the longest ever polls in the state. Polls are to be held for 294 seats in West Bengal and counting of votes will be held on May 2.

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Abhishek Banerjee cautions BJP to brace for May 02 result after Mamata was allegedly attacked

Abhishek Banerjee

Battleground for West Bengal election is getting ready gradually with the most important electoral collision set to be taking place in Nandigram.

West Bengal Chief Minister & TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee was seen in hospital with her left leg in a cast in a photo tweeted by her nephew Abhishek Banerjee this morning, a day after she alleged an attack in Nandigram, where she filed her nomination for the state election later this month.

TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee shared the image with a message targeting the BJP, which has mounted a campaign to try and oust the two-time Chief Minister and her Trinamool Congress from power in Bengal.

“BJP brace yourselves to see the power of people of BENGAL on Sunday, May 2nd. Get ready,” he tweeted.

Also See: Would West Bengal election really be a three-way fight after the defections?

Cannot divide Nandigram

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after filing her nomination from the Assembly seat had said, “Some people want to divide Nandigram 70-30 (ratio of Hindu, Muslim population), but I need 100 percent support. No one can divide this place along religious lines.”

Accompanied by state TMC chief Subrata Bakshi and local party leaders, Banerjee chief had reached Haldia Sub-Divisional Officer’s office after holding a roadshow that was attended by thousands of her supporters from Nandigram and other parts of Purba Medinipur district.

Exuding confidence of winning the seat, where she will take on her former protege and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, Banerjee said, “I have never returned empty-handed from here. Nandigram is not just a name, it is the name of a movement. Bhulte pari sobar naam, bhulbo nako Nandigram (I can forget everyone’s name, but can never forget Nandigram).”

Also See: What are the problem areas of TMC and the chances of BJP in this election season in West Bengal

The TMC chief filed the nomination papers and her candidature was proposed by Sushma Maity, wife of Bhagirath Maity who had gone missing during the Nandigram agitation, 14 years ago, and Abdul Sammad, a senior leader of Bhumi Uchchhed Pratirodh Committee that fought against the land acquisition. The other two proposers were Block TMC presidents of Nandigram-I and Nandigram-II, Swadesh Ranjan Das, and Mahadeb Bagh, respectively.

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Politicking over Mantras: Suvendu Adhikari played recording and said that Mamata Banerjee’s renditions of mantras are wrong

Politicking over Mantras

Mamata Banerjee had on Tuesday, recited passages of “Chandi-path” or chants for Goddess Durga and declared, “You cannot teach me Hinduism. I have shown you that I know the mantras to Goddesses Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kali and Durga. It is not how you do it, memorizing some lines before the election and dropping them at meetings.”

In this regard, Mamata Banerjee’s renditions of Hindu chants were mocked  by her one-time aide turned BJP rival Suvendu Adhikari, who slammed the Bengal Chief Minister’s “I am a Hindu girl” comment.

Mamata was speaking at Nandigram, where she faces Suvendu Adhikari as her BJP rival in the election starting March 27.

Also See: Would West Bengal election really be a three-way fight after the defections?

Mr Adhikari, at a public meeting, came prepared with ammo. He played a recording of the chants and then replayed Mamata Banerjee’s version. “Her Chandi-path was all mangled. Her mantras were wrong.”

Also See: What are the problem areas of TMC and the chances of BJP in this election season in West Bengal

Mr Adhikari rubbed it in by referring to Yogi Adityanath, the saffron-robed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister who is among the BJP’s star campaigners in Bengal.

“Yogi can chant correct mantras, he should be brought here once to correct Mamata Banerjee’s chants. I want Yogi-ji to come here and do that,” he said.

Also see: Trilateral fight in West Bengal election 2021

Adhikari who had recently thrown “outsider” comment on Mamata, continued his attack on his former boss, accusing her of using “Hindu dharma” for politics. It is worthwhile to note that the Insider vs Outsider debate was launched by TMC to attack BJP, which is trying to make inroads into the state-polity.

Also See: West Bengal 2021: Battleground for BJP and TMC

Mamata Banerjee last week announced that she would give up her Bhowanipore seat and contest from Nandigram, the stronghold of Mr Adhikari, in the Bengal election starting March 27.

After her workers’ rally at Nandigram town, she visited several temples and offered prayers.