Jain cheekily also scribbled “With utmost regards” while signing the letter.
Earlier, at a rally in Mejia, Banerjee said no one will stop her from taking forward her battle against the BJP. “Amit Shah is getting frustrated as there is a poor turnout at his rallies. Instead of running the country, he is sitting in Kolkata and hatching a conspiracy to harass TMC leaders. What do they want? Do they want to kill me? Do they think that they will win this election by killing me? They are wrong,” she said.
Banerjee also wondered whether the Election Commission has lost its independence, and alleged that the poll panel is working as per Shah’s instructions. “Is Amit Shah running the EC? He is giving instructions to the EC. What happened to their independence? My director, security (Vivek Sahay) was removed (by EC) as per his instructions,” she alleged.
All senior BJP leaders in Bengal are flying to Delhi tonight amid speculations that the saffron party is facing internal conflict over its list of candidates for the upcoming assembly polls as it mounts a high-voltage campaign against the Mamata-led TMC on a war footing.
Mukul Roy and Dilip Ghosh are among those summoned to Delhi on an urgent basis, sources told CNN-News18. Rumour mills are abuzz that both senior leaders will be fielded as candidates.
The BJP’s core group meeting has been scheduled to address the issue at 10 am tomorrow.
A week after he quit the Congress, senior leader PC Chacko joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in the presence of Party supremo Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule and Praful Patel.
Chacko, a former Lok Sabha MP, said the need of the hour is a united front against the BJP which ‘I could not see that in the party where I was earlier’.
“My association with the left parties is not new. Today when I join the NCP, I will be part of LDF. I have been given instruction by Sharad Pawar ji to travel all across Kerala.”
“LDF will come back to power,” he asserted.
“There are two fronts in Kerala. One is led by the Congress another by the Left. I left Congress, so naturally, I have to take a position. I can support the LDF,” Chacko was quoted as saying earlier in the day.
The Election Commission has taken suo motu cognizance of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s announcement of free delivery of ration at the doorstep.
Commission has sought a report from Purulia district authorities on whether Banerjee promised any new public welfare scheme in violation of MCC
Commission has asked for videos of Banerjee’s public meeting to ascertain the matter. The TMC is scheduled to release its poll manifesto on Wednesday where it is likely to announce ‘Duare Ration’ scheme to deliver free ration to households if it comes to power
Banerjee allegedly made that announcement during her public meeting in Purulia on Monday.
In a big push to Hindutva, BJP National President JP Nadda, who is campaigning in West Bengal, promised to bring all “left-out” Hindu castes under the ambit of OBC.
“The BJP government will constitute a commission and recommend their inclusion,” BJP Spokesperson Amit Malviya tweeted.
Pishi denied them this reservation for a decade, he added.
Union Minister Rajnath Singh hit out at the TMC on Tuesday as it accused the Mamata Banerjee-led party of corruption and political foulplay.
“West Bengal is now known for it’s cut money… not one person in the world can point out a figure and call BJP a corrupt party, he said at a rally in the Sabang constituency.
“Isn’t it correct that bombs are made in West Bengal, and political workers are killed? The day we form the government, we will see who has had ‘Maa Ka Dudh’ to make bombs and attack people,” Defence Minister & BJP leader Rajnath Singh in West Midnapore, West Bengal
Rajya Sabha member Swapan Dasgupta, nominated by the BJP for the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections, resigned from the Upper House today amid a row over his nomination. The TMC had decided to move a disqualification notice against Dasgupta for “violating the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution”, after the BJP gave him ticket to contest. The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution says a nominated member of Parliament shall be disqualified if he or she joins a political party after the expiry of six months from the date of taking the seat. The BJP announced Sunday that Dasgupta would be the party’s candidate from Tarakeshwar constituency in Bengal that is going to assembly polls in eight phases starting March 27.
Protests were held across West Bengal after several aspirants criticised the party and resigned after they were denied tickets for the assembly elections. BJP leader and TMC turncoat Sovan Chatterjee along with with his friend Baisakhi Bandopadhyay quit the party after both of them were denied tickets. Chatterjee’s constituency for several decades, Behala Purba, was given to actor-turned- politician Payel Sarkar, who joined the party a few days back. Sovan requested the BJP leadership that he wanted to contest from Behala East but the party has given him the ticket to contest from Behala West.
In a letter to BJP State President Dilip Ghosh, Sovan mentioned, “I fondly remember how you took the initiative of inducting me into the party in 2019. You have always been encouraging but a few minutes back, I got a call from Shiv Prakash ji (National Joint Secretary, Organisation) who told me that the party has decided to give me ticket from Behala West. Also, the party has decided not to give Baisakhi Banerjee, Co-convenor, Kolkata Zone any ticket from anywhere. I feel extremely humiliated and pained to accept this decision as being a public representative for thirty six year.” His letter reads, “As a Mayor and minister, I have contributed to the development of not only Behala, but entire Kolkata. My commitment to the people of West Bengal at large cannot be denied even by my Opposition parties. But the party’s decision not to give me nomination from Behala East is a moral defeat for me and I have never compromised with my principles.”
On the context of Baisakhi Banerjee’s resignation, he mentioned, “Whenever, I have interacted with you, I clearly said that Baisakhi and I have contributed jointly and in a very small span of time, she has managed to garner huge support in the entire Kolkata zone, especially in Behala. But you have decided to overlook her contribution and have decided not to give her an opportunity to contest the election. Therefore, I tender my protest against that also.”
In August 14, 2019, Sovan Chatterjee joined the BJP and then many in the political fraternity questioned that how he will survive in politics due to his hibernation for nearly two years (after resigning from the TMC in November 2018) coupled with health related issues.
On October 29, 2019, Sovan and Baisakhi sprung a surprise after they met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at her Kalighat residence on the occasion of ‘Bhai Phonta’ (Bhai Dooj).
Then, sensing that Sovan, Mamata’s once blue-eyed boy ‘Kanan’ (as he was fondly called), may rejoin the TMC, the BJP reached out to him. Then, the first one to approach him was Arvind Menon (BJP National Secretary) followed by other senior party leaders over telephone.
Attacking both Congress and BJP, she said, ‘The Congress is like an immovable rock which doesn’t work, except brokering with the BJP in this area. Drive out both of them.’ The chief minister also chanted ‘Khela Hobey’ slogan.