New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Friday that she would support the Congress nationally against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but should not expect any support in the state as they “had joined hands with the Communists”.
Banerjee was speaking at a rally ahead of the state panchayat elections on 8 July, the run-up to which has seen widespread violence. The results will be declared on 11 July.
Banerjee also attacked the Congress for joining hands with the BJP in the state — against her Trinamool Congress. “You have ruled many states, Congress. You are CPI(M)’s biggest friend. Also the BJP’s here. Yet you want our support in Parliament? We will support you against the BJP, but do not come to us for help in Bengal after ‘living with the CPI(M)’ here,” she said.
The Trinamool Congress leader has so far welcomed and supported initiatives to stitch together an Opposition front. She will attend the mega Opposition meeting in Patna on 23 June, convened by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav have recently toured non-BJP states to drum up support for a like-minded front.
Banerjee has also supported Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s efforts to get Opposition backing in Parliament against a central ordinance that has curbed his government’s power over the administrative services.
Banerjee, however, has come under fire for the continuous violence in the state as candidates filed nominations for the impending panchayat elections.
Governor C.V. Ananda Bose visited one such area Friday — Bhangar in the South 24 Parganas district – and said the perpetrators would be “silenced permanently by the law of the land”.
In a statement, the Governor said: “Shocked to hear that the death toll in pre-election violence is increasing. It is revolting that the media is also under attack by hooligans. Victory in elections should depend on the count of votes, not the count of dead bodies.”
Banerjee repudiated allegations of violence at the rally Friday, saying of the 2.31 lakh nominations filed so far, her party candidates were only 82,000. “The Opposition parties, therefore, have filed 1.5 lakh nominations. Yet, you say we are igniting violence? The BJP is full of thieves and goons.”
The poll-related death toll in Bengal stood at five Friday, with three people killed in the last 24 hours. Late Thursday night, Trinamool Congress`s local area secretary Mohammel Haque was killed in Nabagram in Murshidabad district.
Another person who died was All India Secular Front (AISF) activist Selim Mollah. He was shot in Thursday’s nomination-related clashes at Bhangar.
A CPI(M) worker was also shot dead in Chopra, North Dinajpur while he was on his way to file his election papers.
Thursday was initially the last day for filing nominations for the July polls. The Calcutta High Court, however, extended the deadline by a day for those who had been “prevented from filing the papers”.
The high court also directed the state election commission Thursday to deploy central forces in all districts of Bengal within 48 hours. The Trinamool has challenged this order.
On Friday, West Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumdar also wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, saying the “recent incidents of violence and acts of terror have raised serious concerns about the overall law and order situation in the state”.
Majumdar apprised Shah of the murders and requested his “immediate intervention and proactive measures to address the concerns in West Bengal”.
The panchayat elections are likely to see a tough fight between the ruling Trinamool and the main Opposition, BJP.
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