Howrah, Apr 24 (PTI) Senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Friday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he had inadvertently become the “biggest brand ambassador” for West Bengal tourism by showcasing the state’s Ganga ghats, roads and street food during campaign visits.
Addressing election rallies in Jagatballavpur and Domjur assembly constituencies in Howrah district, Banerjee said Modi’s public appearances, including eating muri on a pavement in Jhargram and walking along the Ganga, had done more to promote the state than official tourism campaigns.
“If Bengal had not been promoted this way — how beautiful the Ganga is, how developed the roads of Jhargram are — people of the country would not have known or understood. The biggest brand ambassador for tourism of Mamata Banerjee’s Ma-Mati-Manush government is Narendra Modi,” he said.
“The road he walked on was built by Mamata Banerjee’s government, the footpath was laid by Jhargram municipality, and the boy selling muri has his home in Bihar, where Modi’s own double-engine government rules. He has come to Bengal out of economic compulsion,” Banerjee said in an apparent dig at the BJP’s governance record in its alliance states.
The TMC leader said BJP leaders were “exposing themselves” without any help from the opposition. “They came to change Bengal, but they are changing themselves,” he said.
Banerjee invited BJP leaders to visit the state throughout the year, not just during elections, to enjoy its street food such as ‘phuchka’, ‘jhal muri’, rolls and ‘kachuris’.
Targeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Banerjee said he had advised him to “drink more water and keep a cool head” in view of the summer heat and early indications after the first phase of polling.
Referring to the first phase of polling, Banerjee expressed confidence that TMC’s performance would mirror its 2021 sweep, saying, “The party has crossed a century.” A TMC spokesperson at a media conference claimed the party was leading in over 125 of the 152 seats that went to polls on Thursday, while Shah put his party’s estimate at over 110 seats.
Both parties have expressed signals of a landslide victory since Thursday, following the first phase of polling, which saw nearly 93 per cent turnout, the highest since Independence. PTI BSM MNB
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