Kolkata: With West Bengal Assembly elections being held in two phases for all 294 seats, the campaign has intensified between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the BJP.
BJP senior leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday released a “charge sheet” in Kolkata listing 14 major allegations against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s 15-year government. The BJP’s document cited issues such as corruption, irregularities, administrative high-handedness, deterioration of law and order, and crimes against women.
Responding on behalf of the TMC, Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra questioned Shah’s remarks on women’s safety, asking why he had not spoken about Manipur, which she said has been “burning” for three years. She also alleged that women’s safety is poor in BJP-ruled states and claimed West Bengal fares better by comparison.
Moitra further raised the issue of illegal infiltration, pointing out that the BJP has been in power at the Centre for over a decade and that the Border Security Force is under the Union government’s control. She accused the BJP of trying to create divisions in West Bengal and said the party would end up with “zero” in the election.
The exchange comes as Mamata Banerjee seeks a fourth consecutive victory, while the BJP aims to make electoral gains in the state.
