Published 23:06 IST, January 19th 2021
Trinamool supporters raise 'Shoot Bengal's traitors' slogans at Kolkata party march
Several alleged Trinamool supporters raised slogans 'Shoot traitors of Bengal' (Bengal ke gaddaron ko, goli maaaron saalon ko) in a party procession in Kolkata
As the battle for Bengal polls heats up, several alleged Trinamool supporters raised slogans 'Shoot traitors of Bengal' (Bengal ke gaddaron ko, goli maaaron saalon ko) 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. Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee has often lashed out at the BJP terming them 'outsiders' alleging that they 'don't know Bengali culture, people etc'. She has vowed, "I will not let them destroy Bengal" - fighting with BJP over Swami Vivekananda, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and Ishwarachandra Vidyasagar etc.
TMC supporters raise 'Shoot traitors' slogans
TMC-BJP clashes
On Monday, TMC and BJP cadres indulged in stone-pelting at a roadshow attended by Dilip Ghosh, Suvendu Adhikari, Kailash Vijaywargiya etc in South Kolkata. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, BJP alleged that TMC goons threw stones at a Medinipur rally - injuring several workers. BJP has consistently lashed out at the TMC for 'political killings' claiming that 300 BJP workers have been killed in the past by alleged TMC goons. JP Nadda's convoy too was attacked by stone pelters in Kolkata, leading to a huge standoff between Mamata and Central government.
Adding to the heightened tensions, Banerjee said that she will 'send her people to disrupt BJP and CPM's meetings', after claiming that several TMC meetings were being disrupted by BJP cadres. Furthermore, challenging former close aide Suvendu Adhikari - Mamata Banerjee on Monday, announced that she will contest from Nandigram and Bhawanipore in the upcoming polls. The ex-Nandigram MLA - who was the mastermind of the 2007 Nandigram agitation - responded, "I will leave politics if I fail to defeat her by half a lakh votes".
BJP's Bengal push
The saffron party is gearing for a tough battle in Bengal - aiming to attain more than 200 seats, while not fielding a CM face yet. The BJP had already politically divided Bengal into five parts - North Bengal, Rath Bang (South Western District), Nabadwip, Medinipur and Kolkata, handpicking Shivprakash, Sunil Deodhar, Dushyant Gautam, Bhikubhai Dalsania, Ravindra Raju, Vinod Sonkar, Harish Dwivedi to ta work on booth levels in these regions. With over 65,000 booth committees and 14,000 Shakti Kendra constituted, the BJP has appointed five veterans as central observers - with the final call to be taken by Amit Shah. Trinamool currently holds 222 seats in the 294-seat assembly.
Updated 23:06 IST, January 19th 2021