Posted on

Suvendu Adhikari blamed the overconfidence of Bengal BJP leaders for the election defeat

Suvendu Adhikari & Mamata Banerjee

On Sunday, the leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly & BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said that the BJP lost because of several leaders’ overconfidence that the party would get over 170 seats.

There was a party meeting held in Chandipur area of Purba Medinipur district. In that meeting, Mr Adhikari said that this smugness and overconfidence led to lack of understanding of the emerging ground situation.

The TMC turncoat said, “As we did well in the first two poll phases in these parts of assembly segments, many of our leaders became smug and overconfident. They started believing that the BJP will secure 170-180 seats in the elections, but they did not do the groundwork. This cost us dearly.”

He said that continuing work at the ground level was equally important as setting up targets, which was realistic but needed hard work.

Also Read: Major setback to BJP in north Bengal: Ganga Prasad with 7 other leaders switched to TMC

Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh reacted to Mr Adhikari’s claims. He said, “Suvendu has conveniently forgotten the slew of social welfare projects and a spree of development by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and the mandate against BJP heavyweights’ sustained campaign against the CM and TMC.”

Mr Ghosh is the state general secretary of Trinamool congress. He said, “The BJP was living in a fool’s paradise as many of their leaders predicted that the saffron camp will cross 200 seats. Why he is finding fault with others? Did not Suvendu also boast repeatedly that his party will get 180 seats at least? Actually, they do not know the pulse of Bengal, Trinamool does.”

Also Read: Evolution of Anti defection laws in India- an overview

Few days back Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has been informed that her government was ready for bypolls to seven Assembly constituencies and two Rajya Sabha seats.

A six-member delegation of TMC MPs met ECI in Delhi, demanding that bypolls be held at the earliest on account of fewer Covid-19 cases. The comments came on a day after this meeting.

Mamata Banerjee told media at the state secretariat, “ECI had asked us if we could conduct by-elections to the Rajya Sabha. We told them that we were ready for Rajya Sabha elections and the seven Assembly seats.” She further said that the Covid-19 situation in West Bengal was under control and elections could be held.

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

In order to continue as the Chief Minister, the TMC supremo needs to get elected as an MLA by November 5. Ms Banerjee is likely to contest from Bhabanipur seat which has been left vacant by her party leader and state minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay.

Posted on

Mamata Banerjee filed a plea in Calcutta High Court against Adhikari’s Nandigram-win

Mamata vs Suvendu

On June 17, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee moved a plea before the Calcutta High Court. In the plea, she challenged the election victory of rival-BJP’s leader Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram.

The case would be taken up by the High Court for hearing on June 18. Nearly a month-and-a-half after the declaration of assembly poll results, the legal battle has erupted over the election win of Adhikari. Nandigram assembly constituency had witnessed a personal, a high stakes & high-voltage electoral clash between Mamata Banerjee and her former protégé Adhikari. The latter had jumped ship to BJP in December last year, in hope of getting ahead of Mamata Banerjee in the state polity. But his calculus fell short to predict the complete picture.

Also Read: Mamata Banerjee wins Bengal election but loses Nandigram to Suvendu Adhikari

Trinamool Congress (TMC) led by Mamata Banerjee registered a sweeping win in the assembly polls. But, Adhikari won by a narrow-margin against the chief minister at Nandigram- the centre of West Bengal election 2021.

Suvendu Adhikari won the contest by a slim margin of 1,956 votes, as per the final result declared by the Election Commission of India. Final declaration of result was preceded by a confusion which erupted during the vote counting.

A number of reports had earlier declared Mamata Banerjee as the winner. Sometime later, the polling body issued a clarification, claiming that Adhikari secured more number of votes, which was questioned.

A per the final tally, Adhikari bagged 1,10,764 votes, whereas, Banerjee secured 1,08,808 votes. Trinamool had subsequently levelled allegations of irregularities in the counting.

Also See: Shadow of Narada-sting case over West Bengal

Sources on the condition of anonymity suggested that this case is linked to the case of missing EVMs, which BJP and the poll body are allegedly trying to brush under the carpet. In June 2017, the poll body had told the Bombay High Court that 20 lakh EVMs that the manufacturers affirmed to have delivered are ‘missing’ from the possession of the Election Commission. However, the poll body has refuted this report which visibly has placed it in discomfort.

Posted on

Mamata Banerjee wins Bengal election but loses Nandigram to Suvendu Adhikari

In the West Bengal election, the contest between TMC’s Mamata Banerjee and BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari was a neck to neck fight. Mamata has won the West Bengal election, but lost the seat of Nandigram by 1736 votes to Suvendu Adhikari.

Till the fourth round of vote counting, Banerjee was trailing behind her one-time aide Adhikari in Nandigram in East Midnapore district by a margin of 3,710 votes.

But in the later rounds of vote counting, Mamata Banerjee had steadily picked up the pace. Adhikari and Banerjee were alternately leading each other by margins ranging from 6 to thousands.  At one point in the evening, it was reported that Suvendu was defeated by Mamata Banerjee by 1200 votes.

Once a trusted aide of Mamata Banerjee, Adhikari defected into the BJP last year along with other Trinamool Congress rebels in the presence of party leader and Union Minister Amit Shah at a rally in Midnapore. In the 2016 assembly elections in the state, Suvendu Adhikari had won the prized Nandigram seat for the TMC. Upping the ante, Mamata Banerjee vacated her existing seat of Bhowanipore to challenge her one-time “right-hand man”.

Also Read: West Bengal is a tough battlefield for BJP-an overview from historical, cultural & economic standpoints

Mamata Banerjee has stated that the party will legally challenge the result as she doubts that there have been some malpractices. In this regard, the chief electoral officer of West Bengal has stated that the returning officer would be responsible for the final declaration of counting. It must be noted that Mamata Banerjee had earlier stated that she will move the Supreme Court against the election commission, as she claims that the poll body works at the behest of the central government.

In a press conference, Mamata Banerjee congratulated West Bengal and it’s people for defeating BJP.

Mamata said at the conference, “Do not worry about Nandigram, I struggled for Nandigram because I fought a movement. It is ok. Let the Nandigram people give whatever verdict they want, I accept that. I do not mind. We won more than 221 seats and BJP has lost the election.”
She also added, “But I will move the court because I have information that after the declaration of results there were some manipulations done and I will reveal those. BJP has lost the elections. They played dirty politics. We faced the horror of the Election Commission.”

After the conference, Ms Banerjee paid a visit to the Kalighat Temple to offer her prayer to Goddess Kali as a mark of thanks.

 

Posted on

Vote counting in West Bengal: Suvendu Adhikari again in lead in a nail-biting contest at Nandigram

Bengal election

As of 3:30 pm, the TMC was ahead in 211 seats (22wins) and the BJP in 78 (five wins), with the ruling party comfortably crossing the halfway mark in the state with 294 assembly seats.

Also Read: Graffiti to Social Media-All in Bengal-BJP are not on same page regarding opposition to Mamata

Vote counting has begun for the recently concluded elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal for a total of 822 assembly seats.

In the keenly watched Nandigram seat in West Bengal election, the Suvendu Adhikari of BJP was holding on to his lead against chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who was catching up fast. Around 2:30 pm, she was trailing by just 1,000-odd votes. BJP MP Locket Chatterjee was trailing in Chunchura, which falls under her Lok Sabha constituency.

Also See: What do the manifestos promise as election begins in West Bengal

The elections had begun on March 27 and concluded on April 29, with West Bengal witnessing the highest number of phases being slated for the polling.

While various exit polls have predicted a win for LDF in Kerala, victory for BJP in Assam, & landslide victory for DMK in Tamil Nadu, the polls have indicated at a close fight between TMC and BJP in West Bengal. Six out of nine exit polls have predicted a victory for TMC ensuring a third term for Mamata Banerjee as the Chief Minister. The current status of vote counting is showing a return of TMC by a landslide victory, cementing a strong position of Mamata Banerjee on the national political scene as an alternative to Modi. Her victory might herald an era of coalition politics at the national level.

 

Posted on

Vote counting-Mamata Banerjee takes lead over Adhikari in Nandigram

Bengal election

Mamata Banerjee has taken a lead over Suvendu Adhikari in the crucial seat of Nandigram, by 1500 seats; showing that her magic in West Bengal is still prevalent. On an overall scale, TMC is having a lead on 207 seats. Over this development, TMC leader Madan Mitra commented that Mamata Didi has defeated BJP, which is identified as a ‘420 organization’ by the people in Bengal who have rejected communal politics based on religious identities.

Vote counting has begun for the recently concluded elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal for a total of 822 assembly seats.

The elections had begun on March 27 and concluded on April 29, with West Bengal witnessing the highest number of phases being slated for it.

While various exit polls have predicted a win for LDF in Kerala, victory for BJP in Assam, & landslide victory for DMK in Tamil Nadu, the polls have indicated at a close fight between TMC and BJP in West Bengal. Six out of nine exit polls have predicted a victory for TMC ensuring a third term for Mamata Banerjee as the Chief Minister. The current status of vote counting is showing a return of TMC by a landslide victory, cementing a strong position of Mamata Banerjee on the national political scene.

Posted on

Tendency to evade prediction & difference in voting for LS polls and assembly elections may surprise poll-pundits

Bengal Election

This year’s assembly election in West Bengal is a high pitched battle between TMC, which is looking forward to third term and the saffron camp getting desperate to make inroads into the state. TMC led by Mamata Banerjee gets uncomfortable on questions related to accountability, the continuance of Syndicate mafia, intra-party factionalism, promises of reversing the deindustrialization under Left front & exclusive decision making among Ms Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee and poll-strategist Prashant Kishor. The last factor was a dominant reason for many turncoats in the party to jump-boat to BJP using the window of opportunity of securing one’s political future. The BJP gets piqued and choked up on questions related to its rhetoric which fuels communalism, religious polarization, zero works in improving the national economic situation, turning a literal blind eye to Bengal during Amphan and Corona crises, clamping down on voices of dissent and differences, which is central to the social-psychology of West Bengal.

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

Poll-related violence in Nandigram

At the centre of the second phase of the high-pitched and to some extent personal battles of the West Bengal election, was the assembly seat of Nandigram, which saw spats of violence. At this seat, CM Banerjee is facing her former party-leader & her protégé, Suvendu Adhikari. The place failed to shrug off violence despite adoption of unprecedented measures by the Election Commission of India to maintain peace for a free and fair election.
Charges and counter-charges of intimidation of voters, rigging were volleyed by both BJP and TMC at each other. Incidents of polling agents being driven out & assault on voters and journalists were also exchanged throughout the day of the second-phase poll.

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

At Boyal, the day of second-phase poll saw supporters of both the parties clash over charges of rigging. As early as 8am, both Trinamool congress and BJP alleged that their polling agents were not being allowed to sit inside several several polling stations. Political agents were driven away multiple times at Boyal-I and Boyal-II. Trinamool alleged that their polling agents from as many as 80 booths had been driven out. Forces were mobilized to reduce the figure to 8.

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

In this regard, TMC lodged complaints with the Election Commission of India.  BJP complained that in as many as 122 booths, their agents had been driven out. Suvendu Adhikari rushed to Patrapara, where a BJP-supporter Uday Shankar Dobe committed suicide by hanging himself. His daughter Sabita alleged that her father was intimidated by TMC-supporters.  At Khadambari in Nandigram block I, some Trinamool supporters alleged that BJP was distributing puffed rice to allure voters. Pradip Mandal, a local panchayat official, stated that the saffron camp was doing this, triggering chaos, given the sure-shot probability that BJP would lose the election and its utter desperation.

Also see: Trilateral fight in West Bengal election 2021

At Nandigram, West Bengal Chief Minister & TMC supremo-Mamata Banerjee had to be rescued by the Central paramilitary forces after having to stay confined for more than two hours at a polling booth amid an extremely tense face-off between BJP and Trinamool Congress supporters. The CM told the governor that the situation was a failure of the Election Commission, which was in charge of the law and order. But instead of responding to the situation, Governor Dhankar, who has shown his orientation towards the saffron camp time and agains, simply tweeted.

Also See: What do the manifestos promise as election begins in West Bengal

The wheelchair-bound Chief Minister added, “Anything might happen at any moment. There is total breakdown of law and order.” She also added that she was escorted out by the security forces, who managed to bring the situation under control after long-drawn negotiations with the villagers. Sitting outside the polling site, she wrote a complaint to Election commission, which might be the first instance of its kind in independent India.

Outside the polling station, the security forces were caught on camera shuttling between the two slogan-shouting groups who faced each other across a field, trying to broker peace.

Also Read: Loss of BJP in Bengal would send a message of assurance across the nation & Mamata Banerjee will win the third term

Voter-turnout

Over 83.95 percent voter turnout was recorded till 6 PM with the highest voting in Bankura and the lowest in Paschim Medinipur. Nandigram, where chief minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting against Suvendu Adhikari, recorded 80.79 percent turnout. In total, 43 Ballot Units and CUs each were replaced following glitches across the state. A total of 192 VVPATs were replaced during polling of the second-phase.

Prominent among the incidents of violence was the case where stones were thrown at cavalcade of Suvendu Adhikari. However, it missed and hit media car instead. The incident took place in Takapura area of Nandigram. Also, a vehicle of media personnel was attacked near booth number 170 in Kamalpur, Nandigram. Suvendu Adhikari claimed that the TMC cadres were behind the attack.

Also Read: West Bengal is a tough battlefield for BJP-an overview from historical, cultural & economic standpoints

Past trends’ analysis

The long-term trends of Assembly elections in West Bengal have shown that the incumbent government does return to power if it has performed reasonably well, has a credible mass leader and a believable political narrative. Those who do psephology know that the opinion polls are relatively weaker than the exit polls. In both opinion and exit polls, the most challenging task for pollsters is to accurately project seats rather than find out the probability of parties getting the exact percentage of votes.

In the recent past, political psephology has evolved & developed as a specialized field in political science to correct past mistakes of analyzing and calculating voting behaviour.  Methods of political psephology are derivatives of empirical political science and rational choice theory, rooted in mainstream Western social sciences. However, in the last few years, it has been noticed that the election results in the West and South Asian countries have surprised psephologists. In West Bengal, too, this has happened before, not once but twice. It was in 2001 & 2016 assembly elections.

Long-term trends of assembly elections in West Bengal show that the BJP gets fewer votes in percentage terms compared to parliament elections. A look at some figures of the past 12 years, when the independent strength of the Left has been dwindling provides some necessary insights. BJP got 6.14 percent votes in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. But in the 2011 Vidhan Sabha elections, it got only 4.06 percent votes. In the 2014 elections, it shot up to 17.02 percent votes in the wake of a pro-Modi and an anti-Congress wave in the Lok Sabha election. The vote share of BJP came down to 10.28 percent in the 2016 Vidhan Sabha elections. In 2019, the party surprised many pollsters and political pundits when its vote share touched 40.25 percent.
In Bengal, there was no alliance between the Left and the Congress. As a result, the anti-Trinamool vote got consolidated behind the BJP. Finally, the election was grounded on the RSS’s core issues, and emotions, centred on the Ram Mandir, CAA-NRC, abrogation of Article 370, and issues of national security and terrorism following the Pulwama attack were whipped up.

The state’s Opposition leader had said during the 2016 assembly elections that the Left-Congress alliance would get 200 seats. It ended up with just 77. In the run-up to the current elections, the Union home minister of India has said that the BJP will win 200 seats. This has been contested by the poll-strategist & I-PAC chief-Prashant Kishor, who has asserted that the BJP will not touch even 100 seats.

On an overall basis, the state has shown differences in voting behaviour for the LS polls and assembly election and this assembly election might also throw in surprising facets about the political choices and behavioural choices during elections.

Posted on

Phase-II election-Convoy of Suvendu Adhikari attacked in Nandigram & tense situation in Debra-37.42% turnout in Nandigram

SA bengal

Voting for the second phase of the West Bengal election began on April 01. Sporadic cases of violence were reported from various places in the phase-II voting.

Convoy of Suvendu Adhikari was attacked in Nandigram by unidentified people with stones. As security cover for the candidate was cautious, Adhikari was reportedly safe after the attack, but the cars behind Adhikari’s entourage carrying media personnel had to break away from the route.

In a parallel development, in Debra, after BJP’s Mandal President of the region, Mohan Singh, was detained by the police ruckus took place near a polling booth. BJP workers alleged that police were not allowing BJP election agent access inside the polling booth, whereas locals asserted that nobody wants violence and that this disturbance was brought by BJP.

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

In Bankura, TMC candidate Sayantika Banerjee alleged that two EVMs were dysfunctional and that most of the voters, who were her trusted voter-base had to return homes. She alleged that it was a conspiracy by the BJP to impact the voting in the region. She also added that BJP is trying to use Bankura heat to discourage voters through such issues of EVM, alluding to the influence of saffron party over the Election Commission of India.

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

In pockets of Purba Medinipur, some roads were blocked with burning tyres by Left-front party workers. In these regions and places of Paschim Medinipur, Amphan durniti (misgovernance) was used in the campaign by BJP, to allure voters.

Also see: Trilateral fight in West Bengal election 2021

The voter turnout in Nandigram till now has been reported at 37.42 % and the current overall turnout for the phase-II election is at 34%.

Election in West Bengal is scheduled to be held in 8 phases from March 27 to April, 29 and the vote counting will take place on May, 02.

Posted on

West Bengal, assam go for polls in second phase; Modi urges people to ‘vote in large numbers’

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 1 urged people to vote in large numbers in the second phase of assembly polls in Assam and West Bengal to strengthen democracy in the country.

Second phase of the Assam polls will also take place today. The fate of 345 candidates, including 26 women, is being decided by more than 73.44 lakh voters in the second phase.

Polling began at 7 am for 30 constituencies, including the high-profile Nandigram seat, in West Bengal and 39 seats in Assam amid tight security, officials said.

“Urging the people of West Bengal in whose seats there is polling taking place today to vote in record numbers,” the Prime Minister wrote on Twitter.

BJP national president J P Nadda on Wednesday asserted that the high percentage of polling in the first phase is proof enough of a change of guard in West Bengal, as people have lost faith in the “corrupt” TMC regime. The first phase of assembly polls on March 27 recorded 79.79 per cent voting.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday wrote to non-BJP leaders including Sonia Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, MK Stalin, Tejashwi Yadav, Uddhav Thackeray, Arvind Kejriwal, and Naveen Patnaik, stating that the time has come for a “united and effective struggle” against BJP’s “attacks on democracy and Constitution”.

Nandigram, where CM Mamata Banerjee is locking horns with Suvendu Adhikari, was the place where she led an agitation against land acquisition in 2007, and it catapulted her to the centrestage of state politics.

Posted on

Phase-II election in West Bengal on April 01: Mamata Banerjee vs Suvendu Adhikari Face-off begins in a few hours

adhikari

In West Bengal, the second phase of Assembly elections will be held tomorrow, April 01. A total of 30 assembly constituencies will go for voting in this phase, out of which nine seats are in the East Medinipur district. Among these, Nandigram is one of the key constituencies as the Bengal Chief Minister- Mamata Banerjee is in the contest from that seat. The high-stakes & high-pitched second phase of the Assembly elections will witness an intense contest between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her former protégé & ministerial colleague Suvendu Adhikari.

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

The total number of polling booths in Nandigram is 355. Out of which 278 are main and 77 are auxiliary polling stations. Webcasting facility will be available in 278 booths. Total number of voters for the second phase is 2,57,156, out of which, 1,33,258 are male voters and 1,23,898 are female voters. All the booths where polling will be held in the second phase have been declared as “sensitive” by the Election Commission of India.

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

A total of 2,000 central forces officials will be deployed for Nandigram, and 22 quick response teams will also be there to prevent any chaos. The local sub-divisional authority in Haldia, Purba Medinipur district have said that in accordance with specific directions of the Election Commission of India, and in the likelihood of violence, breach of peace and unwarranted incidents, Section 144 of the CrPC was imposed from 6:30 pm on March 30 till April 2.

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

Apart from Nandigram, other important constituencies that are going to polls for the second-phase include Tamluk, Panskura Purba, Panskura Purba, Moyna, Nandakumar, Mahisadal, Chandipur, Haldia. In West Medinipur, constituencies going to polls are Kharagpur Sadar, Narayangarh, Sabang, Pingla, Debra, Daspur, Ghatal, Chandrakona and Keshpur. The centrality of this phase of election is clear from the activities of the Election Commission of India. Just 24 hours before the vote, Circle Inspector, Mahishadal, Bichitra Bikas Roy, has been replaced by Inspector, Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench, Sirshendu Das. SDPO, Haldia, Barun Baidya has been replaced by Uttam Mitra. On April 01, voting will also take place in Bankura, Barjora, Onda, Bishnupur, Katulpur, Indus, Sonamukhi, Taldangra.

Also see: Trilateral fight in West Bengal election 2021

Meanwhile, another important district in the fray for the second phase is South 24 Parganas. The district contains 31 Assembly constituencies in total and is known as a TMC  stronghold. The TMC managed to win 29 of 31 seats in the South 24 Parganas. But, the saffron camp has also left no stones unturned during the election campaign in these areas. The promises that BJP made during the election campaign are also endless, from gathering people who were angry on cyclone Amphan relief to making Gangasagar an international fair. Constituencies that go to poll in South 24 parganas are Gosaba, Patharpratima, Kakdwip and Sagar.

Impact of weather-heatwave

Several parts of West Bengal have been reeling under conditions of heat-wave. It has been estimated that there would be no likely improvement in the situation over the coming days. Conditions will remain hot and humid. But many believe that public will queue in front of the polling stations from the morning overcoming all obstacles to elect their representatives, given the importance of this assembly election & the political awareness of Bengali voters.

Also See: Battle for Bengal gets pithier as election days  are getting closer

Question marks on ECI

In the context of West Bengal election, Election Commission of India, which was once reformed by TN Seshan (in early 1990s) is now facing serious questions over its legitimacy as an organization that coordinates the national and state elections. Its actions like declaring all the polling sites as sensitive, spreading the election over 8 phases, changing rules for polling agents, betrays its submissive attitude to the centre or rather BJP. It was also found out (by RTI activist Saket Gokhale) that for phase 5 polls, out of the affidavits for candidate-nomination, which were submitted on March 26, all were uploaded by ECI except that of the BJP candidate for Dhupgiri, Bishnu Pada Ray. As per transparency rules and requirements, such affidavits should be uploaded for all the parties at the same-time, for parity and transparency. But, ECI did not do so.

Also Read: Loss of BJP in Bengal would send a message of assurance across the nation & Mamata Banerjee will win the third term

West Bengal had reported 84.3 percent voter turnout in the first phase of polling on March 27. Election in West Bengal is scheduled to be held in 8 phases from March 27 to April, 29 and the vote counting will take place on May, 02.

Posted on

Controversy erupts over a video file purportedly showing Mamata seeking help from BJP leader-suspicion of video-doctoring

mamta vs suvendu

The first phase of election in West Bengal for 30 assembly seats concluded today with few incidents of clashes and complaints regarding EVM machines from various polling-stations. A total of 191 candidates are in the fray for the first-phase.

In the heated theatre of the ongoing West Bengal election, a controversy erupted when a video clip was released by the BJP, in which CM Mamata Banerjee is seen cajoling a local leader from Nandigram to help her win the seat against her former protégé Suvendu Adhikari.

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

A BJP delegation, led by party general secretary and Bengal minder Kailash Vijayvargiya, met the state’s chief electoral officer and handed over the tape, claiming that Banerjee was using her official position to influence the outcome of the bitterly-contested high-pitched assembly poll.

Many people suspect that the video was doctored and that it was released to impact the voter sentiments on the very first day of polling. A source in Hooghly, on the condition of anonymity, asserted that the accent and the tone of the recorded speech make it clear that it was not Mamata’s speech.

The election in West Bengal is scheduled to be held in 8 phases from March 27 to April, 29 and the vote counting will take place on May, 02, 2021.