New Delhi: A day after the first phase of polling showed a good turnout of voters in both West Bengal and Assam, BJP stalwart and Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, on Sunday exuded confidence that his party has recorded “convincing victories” to these elections.
“We have got clear indications from our workers and party’s poll machinery that we are winning more than 26 seats out of 30 and more than 37 out of 47 polls were in the first phase in West Bengal and respectively,” Shah told a press conference here.
“We are only winning….we are also recording convincing and large margins of win,” he said. He claimed the mandate in both the states have been “positive”. “In Assam people have given their approval for a strike and movement free Assam and for the new development initiatives undertaken under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.
Lauding Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and state Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s role in the last five years, “there is a big mandate for the development works”. “The concept of Double Engine government has convinced the people of Assam,” he said.
Referring to Bengal voting in the first phase on Saturday, March 27; Amit Shah said after the Leftists rule people had reposed hopes in the government of Mamata Banerjee. “But it was only a symbolic change. Ruling party’s name and leaders changed. But Bengal did not. It was stuck into the same status quo (wohin ka wohin),” the Home Minister lamented rather than adding, “there was even further decline (in quality of governance).
The mandate of March 27 shows that the BJP has able to kindle a “ray of hope” among the voters by the parry’s vision of Sonar Bangla. “Like any other state, people have started hoping now that even West Bengal can develop and can become Sujalam, Sufalam,” said Mr Shah, who is often credited for crafting party’s electoral strategy in the state where the saffron party did not have much of a presence even a few years back.
“People have now started believing that in Bengal to a government can uphold constitutional mechanism and run effectively without banking on minority appeasement,” he said. Even otherwise, the Mamata camp is unnerved by numerous factors. One of them is strong anti incumbency mood wherein Mamata’s image has emerged as that of a Muslim appeaser.
There is immense ‘trust deficit’ now between the voters and the Trinamool Congress leadership.
Shah also complimented the Election Commission for holding the elections peacefully in Bengal on the first phase of polling. In the first phase, polling took place in all nine seats in Purulia, four in Bankura, six in Paschim Medinipur, four in Jhargram and seven seats in Purba Medinipur.
The excitement of all polling this year will be in Nandigram on April 1 when Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is pitted against BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, a son of the soil in that region and a former lieutenant of Trinamool supremo.
However, Trinamool leader Derek O’ Brien tweeted to say ‘mind games’ by seat prediction would not work. “Mind games won’t work, Mo-Sha (Modi-Shah). Try your seat prediction stunts at the Gujarat Gymkhana.This is Bengal. #KhelaHobe,” he wrote.
