Political heavyweights fanned out across party lines across West Bengal on Sunday, holding rallies, roadshows and rallies as the high-octane campaign for the second phase came to a close on Monday evening.
Addressing rallies in North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts, Prime Minister Narendra Modi focused on women’s safety, saying women strongly support the BJP. “I can see maximum enthusiasm among women here because they suffered the most during the TMC regime,” he said.
Mamata Banerjee on EVMs
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the central forces of acting at the behest of the Election Commission in favor of the ruling party at the Centre. “I heard about two incidents where power supply was cut to the strong rooms containing electronic voting machines. Central forces escorted the criminals there to arrest them. I am amazed at the silence of the EC,” Banerjee said at a rally in Bhabanipur, where she is contesting from.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah also intensified his election campaign, with LoP’s Rahul Gandhi also targeting TMC in a post on Sunday.
Modi on Sunday intensified his attack on the ruling TMC, alleging that as women and the Dalit community died, during Prime Minister Mamata Banerjee’s 15-year rule, he had to suffer the most.
His remarks came on the penultimate day of campaigning for the second and final phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections, in which the remaining 142 constituencies will vote on April 29.
“Ma Mati Manush”: Moody
Modi addressed the Dalit Matua community for the first time this election season, weeks after hundreds of members of the community were removed from electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Review (SIR) process.
“I can see maximum enthusiasm among the women present here because they suffered the most during the 15-year-long TMC regime. The record turnout in the first phase of polls has crushed the pride of the TMC. The second phase will ensure the formation of a BJP government. I can see maximum enthusiasm among the women present here because they have suffered the most during the TMC regime,” Modi said at an election rally in Thakurnagar in North 24 Parganas district. The 15-year Transitional Military Council.
Modi claimed that the TMC had “stopped talking” about “Ma Mati Manush”, the party’s slogan when it came to power 15 years ago, because doing so would “expose the sins they committed in Bengal”.
“While the ‘ma’ (mother) is crying now, the ‘mati’ (land) has been handed over to unions and infiltrators, and the ‘manush’ (people) have been forced to leave the state in search of opportunities elsewhere,” he added.
He also reiterated the election promises made by the BJP to the people of the eastern state.
Modi says BJP will give rice for free
“Once the BJP government is formed, we will provide free rice which will help you save $7000-10000 annually. TMC supplies arsenic-laden water in this area. BJP will provide clean drinking water and $80,000 to set up a solar power plant at home. The banks will give each sister a $Mudra loan 20,000 to start a business. “Modi will be the guarantor of the loan,” Modi said. The Bangladesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced an annual aid of Rs $36 thousand for all women and 33% reservation in government jobs.”
The Matua, part of the large Namasudra Dalit community, came as refugees from Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) after partition in 1947 and the creation of Bangladesh in 1971.
With their strong presence in North 24 Parganas (Bengal’s largest district with 33 seats) and Nadia (17 seats), the Matuas have supported the BJP in all the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls since 2019 because they were guaranteed citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). However, many are yet to receive it despite filling out online forms. Many of them sided with the Transitional Military Council.
He also addressed a rally at Haripal in Hooghly district.
The Prime Minister also offered prayers at the Matua Thakur temple in Thakurnagar. “He prayed at Matua Thakur temple earlier today. I prayed the ideals of Sri Sri Harichand Thakur Ji and Sri Sri Guruchand Thakur Ji in illuminating our society,” he said in a post on X.
Later in the day, Modi participated in a roadshow in north Kolkata as the BJP intensified its campaign ahead of the second and final phase of the elections.
Every infiltrator will repeat: Shah
Federal Home Minister Amit Shah made similar promises to women voters in Hazami Matua in Tehata and Ranaghat in Nadia district on the border with Bangladesh. “The TMC has been providing biryani to infiltrators all these years while Modi ji was giving befitting response to Pulwama attack and Pahalgam terror attack. After May 5, every infiltrator will be identified and sent back,” he said.
The TMC has repeatedly responded to Shah’s claims, pointing out that the Border Security Force (BSF) guarding the border is under the MHA. “Once each of you returns home after this rally, ask 25 people in your family to vote for the BJP. This alone can put an end to the chaos started by the TMC,” Shah said in Ranaghat. In Tehata, known for its multi-crop cultivation, Shah assured garlic farmers that they would get a fair price if the BJP came to power.
“Garlic is sold at a price $200 kilos all over the country but here they sell it $12 Because Chinese garlic was pushed into the market. The BJP will stop such imports, he said.
Polling for 152 of the 294 seats in the assembly was held on April 23, with a record turnout of 92.35%.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday alleged that Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel tried to “seize” electronic voting machines (EVMs) in areas that went to polls in the first phase on April 23.
“I heard about two incidents where power supply was cut to two strong rooms where electronic voting machines are kept. Central forces escorted the criminals to those places to seize the electronic voting machines. The faces of these people were covered with blankets. I am surprised that the EC (Election Commission) is silent,” the Trinamool Congress leader, who is seeking a fourth consecutive term as chief minister, told voters and supporters at a rally in her Bhabanipur seat in south Kolkata.
Her seat is among 142 seats in seven districts of south Bengal, including Kolkata, that will go to the polls in the second and final phase on April 29. The campaign ends at six o’clock on Monday evening.
TMC candidate from North Bengal’s Cooch Behar South Assembly seat Abhijeet D Bhowmick raised the allegation on Saturday, but state chief electoral officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal denied it.
“All electronic voting machines are secure. The fortified rooms are kept under lock and key and have been double-checked,” Agarwal told the media.
However, Banerjee repeatedly raised the same allegation in successive rallies in Bhabanipur till Sunday evening.
The Prime Minister spent the entire day attending roadshows and rallies in Bhabanipur where she takes on Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to attend the BJP’s final roadshow on Monday in Mamata Banerjee’s constituency. The votes will be counted on May 4 .
In Bhabanipur, where the TMC trailed the BJP in four of the eight municipal wards comprising the assembly seat during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Mamata Banerjee told the global population that she works for the people all year round.
“The city has developed a lot before your eyes. There is no power shortage. There are no bad roads. Waterlogging is no longer a big problem during monsoon because our civic body has repaired the sewerage system,” Banerjee said.
“The BJP used to say I don’t allow Durga Puja in Bengal. The truth is that Durga Puja in Kolkata attracts tourists from all over the world and provides employment to many people. When I started giving financial help to community clubs to organize Durga Puja, they (BJP) went to court. The BJP said I have turned Kolkata into a slum. Poor people live in slums. They work honestly. You can’t insult the poor,” Banerjee said.
“BJP will not come to power. BJP dar gaya. Jo dar gaya woh mar gaya (he who is afraid, dies),” Banerjee said at another rally, stealing a famous verse from the 1970s hit film “Sholay” as he addressed Hindi-speaking voters.
(With inputs from Tanmay Chatterjee)
