'Shoot the traitors' chants swapped in Bengal; After TMC, now heard at Suvendu's BJP rally

As the poll battle in West Bengal intensifies, the list of leaders jumping ship is also growing longer. And amid this, it appears that the back and forth over mirroring slogans is also intensifying. For instance, a day after 'Shoot the traitors' ('Goli Maro') slogans were heard in a Trinamool Congress rally, the infamous slogan has now made a comeback to BJP. On Wednesday, BJP Bengal supporters attending a roadshow in West Bengal’s Hooghly district raised the slogan - 'Desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maro...' The roadshow was led Hooghly MP Locket Chatterjee and TMC-turned BJP neta Suvendu Adhikari. 

Earlier, Trinamool supporters raised 'Shoot traitors of Bengal' (Bengal ke gaddaron ko goli maaaro) in a party procession in Kolkata on Tuesday. Visuals from the procession show a crowd marching in the streets of Kolkata raising flags of the Trinamool party while raising the slogans. While Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee has often lashed out at the BJP terming them 'outsiders' alleging that they 'don't know Bengali culture, people etc', BJP has claimed that Mamata is 'anti-national.' Both TMC and BJP, have fought over Bengali icons - Swami Vivekananda, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and Ishwarachandra Vidyasagar, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, etc. The 'shoot the traitors' slogan is infamous on account of it being used in a rally exchange involving MoS Finance Anurag Thakur before the Delhi riots over which there has been significant politics.

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Trinamool vs BJP in West Bengal

While the BJP has chalked out a massive plan for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly polls which includes Home Minister Amit Shah visiting the state every month till the elections, Trinamool has already begun its outreach programme highlighting the welfare schemes of the Mamata Banerjee government. The TMC has also roped in former JDU VP and poll strategist Prashant Kishor for Mamata's re-election while the BJP's campaign is being headed by senior leader Kailash Vijayvargiya, under the leadership of BJP chief JP Nadda. 

While the BJP has claimed it'll win 200 seats, the Trinamool, via 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. 

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