Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday said that members of the India bloc are likely to meet in the first week of June to discuss a common strategy, while asserting that the opposition camp is ready for a long-term political battle.
“We are ready to fight, and we will not surrender until the end,” Banerjee said in a live speech on Facebook.
Using the platform to launch a fresh attack on the BJP, the TMC alleged widespread electoral rigging and claimed that the popular mandate of the Trinamool Congress had been negated in around 150 assembly constituencies.
“Winning seats turned into losing seats and losing seats turned into winning seats,” she claimed, claiming that otherwise the military council would have won between 220 and 230 seats.
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Rejecting the allegations, senior BJP leader KIA accused Ghosh Banerjee of refusing to accept the electoral verdict and trying to explain the defeat through conspiracy theories.
Gosh wondered why the head of the Transitional Military Council was raising concerns about the electoral process now when her party accepted the elections it won in 2011, 2016 and 2021 as legitimate.
“She is unable to face defeat and is unwilling to accept it. If the 2011, 2016 and 2021 elections were fair, why are you suddenly raising questions now? By raising these conspiracy theories, she is ignoring the Constitution. Her victory means crowded booths, violence and attacks on political opponents,” Ghosh said.
The head of the Transitional Military Council repeated allegations of irregularities in voter lists and election procedures, claiming that the electoral process had been compromised.
“Nearly 60,000 names were initially deleted (through the SIR process). Although many of them were later recovered, we have information indicating tampering and irregularities at various stages,” it claimed.
Banerjee said the TMC will resort to legal remedies in the constituencies where questions remain over the conduct of the elections.
She also accused the BJP of using political pressure and intimidation against opponents. “The more the BJP tortures the TMC in Bengal, the more problems it will face in New Delhi,” she added.
The former chief minister claimed that party workers and grassroots activists were targeted after the regime change in the state.
She added: “It has been twenty days since the votes were counted. Our party workers and elected representatives are being subjected to torture and intimidation, but we are resilient.”
Banerjee alleged that the TMC-run civic bodies and local institutions are facing administrative hurdles and accused the BJP government of shrinking the democratic space.
“Some people may become apostates, but a section of people are still with us. We will come back and give the BJP a befitting reply,” she said.
Countering her allegations, Ghosh alleged that Banerjee’s political influence had weakened and alleged growing unease within the ranks of the TMC, asserting that workers and elected representatives were increasingly turning away from the party.
She accused the TMC of turning into a “corporate-style organization” centered around Abhishek Banerjee, and claimed that recent political developments reflect broader shifts in public sentiment.
Referring to the Falta result, Ghosh claimed that even TMC strongholds like Diamond Harbor were showing signs of political change.
She also claimed that Banerjee’s defeat in Bhabanipur reflects changing public sentiments against the TMC leadership and a “complete rejection” of the party.
However, Banerjee maintained that the party’s electoral setback would not weaken its organizational resolve.
She also claimed that despite obtaining 80 multilateral agreements, the TMC had not received recognition of the opposition leader status, and alleged that its legislators were forced to sit in the Assembly foyer.
However, BJP leader Ghosh rejected the prospects of opposition unity under the India bloc, claiming that previous alliance experiments had failed.
“They may continue to form alliances, but the BJP is not bothered. The people are with us,” she said.
