Published 13:07 IST, February 14th 2021
Amid Trinamool's appeal to Left & Congress, Dilip Ghosh says 'proves TMC's desperation'
After TMC appealed to the Left & Cong for a united fight against BJP, state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh said that they can't fight against us on their own.
After the Trinamool Congress (TMC) appealed to the Left Front-Congress alliance to not invite the "bigger evil" BJP to settle scores with it in the poll-bound state of West Bengal, state's BJP chief Dilip Ghosh said that CPM-Congress were at loggerheads with the TMC before. While stating that TMC is certain that it will not be able to fight BJP in the upcoming assembly elections, Dilip Ghosh said that this is the reason it has been making such appeals.
"It also proves the desperation of TMC. They can't fight against us on their own so they are seeking help from other parties. It also proves that BJP is the only alternative to the TMC," BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said.
After Bengal BJP leader Jagannath Sarkar's car was attacked while he was going from Kolkata Airport to his parliamentary constituency Ranaghat on Saturday night, the leader alleged that TMC is targeting him. Asserting that CM Mamata Banerjee-led TMC is doing all illegal work, Jagannath Sarkar said, "They tried to murder me because I pointed out their illegal work."
TMC appeals to Left-Congress to fight 'bigger evil' BJP, gets rejected
TMC recently appealed to the Left Front-Congress alliance not to invite the "bigger evil" BJP to settle scores with it in West Bengal. It is important to note here that this is for the second time in the last 1 month that TMC had appealed to the Left and Congress to put up a united fight against BJP in the upcoming assembly elections in the state. Meanwhile, BJP while expressing elation over the proposal said, "the saffron party is the only alternative to TMC in Bengal."
Speaking further about TMC's appeal to unite against BJP, West Bengal Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Tapas Roy said that if the Left and the Congress are genuinely anti-BJP then they should be behind Mamata Banerjee in her fight against the communal and diverse politics of the saffron party. Tapas Roy further said, "While opposing Mamata Banerjee and TMC they should not commit the mistake of inviting the bigger evil BJP in Bengal. They should look at the situation in Tripura and decide what to do."
Left and Congress reject TMC's proposal
Rejecting the proposal by TMC, state senior Congress leader Abdul Mannan blamed the party for the growth of BJP in Bengal. Mannan said, "We are not interested in aligning with the TMC. Why is the TMC now interested in an alliance with us after poaching our MLAs for the last 10 years? It is due to Mamata Banerjee that the BJP has gained strength in Bengal."
Meanwhile, senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said that both TMC and the BJP are trying to woo Left votes after branding the Left and Congress as a negligible political force in the state. "Both TMC and BJP are now either praising the Left or are seeking our support. It only reflects that we are still a force to reckon with," he said. The Left and Congress will defeat both TMC and the BJP in the next elections, Chakraborty asserted.
West Bengal assembly elections
Meanwhile, the BJP has claimed it will win 200 seats in the elections, while the TMC, via poll strategist Prashant Kishor, has contended that the saffron party won't cross 99. West Bengal assembly with 294 seats will go to polls in April-May 2021, Trinamool holds 222 seats. BJP has made major inroads in the state in the Lok Sabha elections winning 18 seats and establishing itself as the major opposition force in the state. Mamata Banerjee has announced that she will contest polls from Nandigram, the place that paved way for her rule in the state, and her ex-aide Suvendu Adhikari - who is now in BJP - has vowed to defeat her.
Updated 13:07 IST, February 14th 2021