Mamata accuses PM Modi of violating MCC in Matua community outreach; will complain to EC

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Saturday accused PM Modi of violating the Model of Conduct during his two-day visit to Bangladesh. Speaking at a rally in Kharagpur, the TMC supremo claimed that the PM was seeking votes from one section of people while the polling is underway in the state. This was seen as a reference to his visit to Orakandi, the birthplace of the Matua sect founder Harichand Thakur. Moreover, he even met representatives of the Matua community in the presence of NSA Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and promised that the Indian government will upgrade one middle school and set up a primary school in Orakandi. 

This visit is being linked by TMC to electoral politics as members of this community play a key role in deciding the fate of at least 30 Assembly constituencies in the state. Castigating BJP for its double standards, Banerjee recalled that the JP Nadda-led party had got the visa of a Bangladeshi actor cancelled as he attended a rally during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls campaign. Contending that the PM's visa should also be cancelled now, she announced that TMC will lodge an official complaint with the Election Commission. 

WB CM Mamata Banerjee remarked, "Sometimes they say Mamata has brought people from Bangladesh and did infiltration. But he (PM) himself goes to Bangladesh for vote marketing."

West Bengal Assembly polls

Mamata Banerjee-led TMC had swept the 2016 Assembly polls by bagging 211 seats in the 294-member Assembly. In West Bengal, 294 seats are up for grabs and people will be able to cast their votes at 1,01,916 polling stations. As of 4.05 pm, the voter turnout for 47 seats that have gone for the polls in the first phase is 70.17%. The polling for the remaining phases will take place on April 1, April 6, April 10, April 17, April 22, April 26 and April 29. The counting of votes shall take place on May 2. 

Addressing a press conference on March 5, WB CM Mamata Banerjee announced the list of 291 TMC candidates while leaving three seats for the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha for the Assembly election. The list includes 50 women candidates, 79 Scheduled Caste candidates, 17 Scheduled Tribes candidates and 42 Muslim candidates. On the other hand, BJP's candidate list includes prominent leaders such as Suvendu Adhikari, Union Minister Babul Supriyo, three other Lok Sabha MPs, ex-nominated MP Swapan Dasgupta, Mukul Roy and Rahul Sinha.