Mumbai, May 4 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said the BJP’s victory in West Bengal would help save the country from infiltrators and terrorist activities, asserting that people had reposed strong faith in the party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Citing the BJP’s performance in Bengal, Assam, and Puducherry, he said 78 per cent of the country is now ruled by the BJP-led NDA.
“The victory in West Bengal will save our country from infiltrators, terrorist activities, and attacks. The way the Mamata Banerjee-led government functioned, it ensured that infiltrators from Bangladesh were sent across India. These people would take away our jobs and pose a threat to our security, sovereignty, and unity,” Fadnavis said while addressing BJP workers.
Referring to his campaign during the Bengal polls, Fadnavis said he was told that locals considered the BJP an outsider party, to which he responded that the party was founded by Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and had deep roots.
Fadnavis said there was a growing trust factor for the BJP and PM Modi across states such as West Bengal, Puducherry and Assam, adding that the party would bring West Bengal out of “bad rule”.
He criticised the erstwhile governments of Congress and the Left, calling the last 15 years under Banerjee the “worst of all” tenures.
The Chief Minister said West Bengal, once the country’s financial hub with Kolkata as its economic capital, had declined due to the previous governments.
“Of the total FDI which our country receives, West Bengal could not even attract half a per cent,” he claimed.
Fadnavis added that West Bengal was once highly industrialised, but nearly 7,000 major industries had left the state, which has turned into a “jungle raj”.
He credited PM Modi’s vision and infrastructure push, including roads and metro projects, for convincing voters about real transformation.
Fadnavis hailed Union Home Minister Amit Shah as a master strategist and also lauded BJP president Nitin Nabin for ensuring a major victory.
He dedicated the Bengal win to BJP workers who were attacked or killed after the previous assembly elections, asserting that the party’s “chariot of victory cannot be stopped”.
Drawing a comparison with Assam, Fadnavis said infiltration and terror activities had stopped after the BJP came to power and that the north-eastern state is now contributing significantly to growth.
“Similarly, West Bengal will be seen as a growth partner of the country in the coming days,” he added.
Fadnavis also thanked the Election Commission for conducting peaceful polls, claiming that no lives were lost.
Taking a swipe at Mamata Banerjee, the BJP leader said he would not be surprised if she holds a press conference in the next couple of days and attributes the TMC’s defeat to EVMs.
“EVMs function properly in Kerala but not in West Bengal,” he said sarcastically.
He further said the electoral outcome was a “tight slap” to the opposition, which has been insulting institutions such as the Election Commission, courts, Reserve Bank, the Comptroller and Auditor General, and even Parliament.
Fadnavis visited a specially-erected stall selling jhalmuri at the party headquarters. He and BJP workers marked the celebration by partaking of the snack- puffed rice mixed with spices, mustard oil, peanuts and onions- in a symbolic gesture reflecting the flavours of West Bengal. PTI ND NSK
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