The Bengali political drama in the wake of the May 4 election results continues to escalate, with accusations and counter-allegations mounting between Mamata’s Trinamool Congress and the BJP, which marks its first historic win in Bengal.
With Mamata Banerjee refusing to resign as Bengal Chief Minister, alleging election rigging by the BJP, opposition leaders like Akhilesh Yadav of Congress’ Rahul Gandhi Samajwadi Party and Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena have thrown their weight behind her. Track updates on West Bengal news
In a show of solidarity, SP’s Yadav reportedly held a closed-door meeting with Mamata at her Kolkata residence on Thursday. The meeting began at 3:15 pm, and TMC Secretary General Abhishek Banerjee was also present, news agency ANI reported, citing sources in the TMC.
Akhilesh Yadav praised Didi
Yadav reportedly praised Mamata and her nephew in the Bengal election battle and said: “Didi, you did not lose.”
“What a commendable battle you all fought,” Yadav told Abhishek.
Earlier in the day, Yadav alleged that democracy in West Bengal had been undermined, alleging that voters were subjected to pressure during the elections and did not exercise their franchise freely.
He accused the BJP of weakening democratic institutions. “Perhaps no one has done as much damage to democracy as the BJP,” Yadav was quoted as saying, adding that the party “cannot tolerate the rise of women in politics” and that voting was done under duress and not free will.
In the wake of the BJP’s landslide victory in Bengal and the TMC’s crushing defeat, Yadav on Tuesday accused the BJP of indulging in “shameful vote looting” in West Bengal, which he alleged was misuse of police and administrative machinery during the elections.
“The BJP is just an assembly of fake leaders. They do not have even the slightest faith in democracy; their only agenda is looting. The BJP has indulged in shameful vote-plundering in West Bengal and has shown no hesitation in misusing the police and administrative machinery,” Yadav said while addressing party workers at the state Samajwadi Party headquarters in Lucknow.
“The BJP is just an assembly of fake leaders. They do not have even the slightest faith in democracy, and their only agenda is looting,” he said.
TMC poll debacle and violence in Bengal
Bengal was on the brink after the TMC’s crushing defeat and Mamata’s removal from power after 15 years. While incidents of violence were reported after the results were announced on May 4, the situation worsened after Chandranath Rath, a close aide of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, was shot dead in Kolkata’s North 24 Parganas area on Wednesday evening.
Adhikari, who defeated Mamata from Nandigram in 2021, ousted the TMC from its stronghold of Bhabanipur in the recently concluded Assembly elections.
The BJP achieved a stunning victory in the Bengal elections by winning 207 seats out of 294, while the TMC’s number of seats came down to just 15 seats.
Earlier in the day, Yadav alleged that democracy in West Bengal had been undermined, alleging that voters were subjected to pressure during the elections and did not exercise their franchise freely.
Speaking to reporters, he accused the BJP of weakening democratic institutions. “Perhaps no one has done as much damage to democracy as the BJP,” Yadav said, adding that the party “cannot tolerate the rise of women in politics” and that voting was done under duress and not free will.
He also questioned the incidents of political violence taking place in the state, including attacks on party workers and damage to party offices, wondering who was responsible for the security chaos during the elections.
