Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday referred to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s loss in Nandigram in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections and said the same will be repeated in Bhabanipur, her constituency in Kolkata, and the rest of the state is on the cusp of change after 15 years of Trinamool Congress (TMC) rule.
“Nandigram in East Midnapore showed the path of change five years ago. Now, the entire state of West Bengal has started moving in this direction. This feat, which Nandigram achieved five years ago, will be repeated in Bhabanipur and the entire Bengal this year,” Modi said at a rally in Haldia in East Midnapore ahead of the elections to be held on April 23-29.
Banerjee lost to her former protégé, Suvendu Adhikari, in Nandigram in 2021, months after he defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP has fielded Adhikari against Banerjee in Bhabanipur, the TMC stronghold. Banerjee has represented Bhabanipur since 2011.
Banerjee asserted that the TMC would win the elections even as she attacked the BJP for deleting nine million voters from the electoral roll as part of the Special Intensive Review (SIR). She accused the BJP of targeting Bengal and added that they will win Bengal first and then target Delhi. “Until the BJP is removed, the country will be in danger. We need to protect our country and its people. I urge people not to cast a single vote for any party except the TMC. Think of those people who were wrongly omitted and those who died due to SIR,” she said at a rally at Meenakhan in North 24 Parganas.
Both Modi and Banerjee talked fish on Thursday, as Bengali culture, identity and pride emerged as key election issues. “Fisheries and seafood have huge potential in West Bengal. Although there is a huge demand for fish, West Bengal is not yet self-reliant. It has to be bought from other states. During the 15 years of its rule, the TMC government could not even supply you with fish. This is an example of TMC corruption,” Modi said.
Banerjee and other TMC leaders attacked the BJP, claiming that it would prevent people from selling and eating fish if it comes to power in West Bengal.
Modi said the BJP governments at the Center and the state would make Bengal self-reliant in fish production. “In the last 11 years, the country’s fish production and seafood exports have doubled. But due to the sins of the TMC government, West Bengal has not been able to achieve this. Fish production is increasing rapidly in BJP-ruled states. There was a time when Bihar had to buy fish from other states. But due to the policies of the BJP government, fish production in the state has almost doubled. It is now sending fish outside the state. In Assam too, fish production has doubled in the last decade,” he said.
He said that Prime Minister Mathya Sampada Yojana has played an important role in increasing fish production in India. “The arrogant TMC government did not implement the scheme because it contained the Prime Minister’s word,” Modi said.
Banerjee cited her government’s achievements in increasing fish production. She added that the TMC government has reduced the state’s dependence on neighboring Bangladesh for Hilsa. “Earlier, there was a scarcity of Hilsa, and we had to depend on Bangladesh. In 2013, we set up a research center for Hilsa in Diamond Harbour. Today, there is no scarcity of Hilsa. We had to buy eggs from Andhra Pradesh. Now, 90% of our egg needs are produced in the state. We have even started preserving small fish. We have issued cards to fishermen through which they can be tracked during disasters.”
