West Bengal polls: Mamata Banerjee alleges BJP ‘threatening’ TMC candidates to manage majority | India News
Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee It was alleged on Sunday that the Bharatiya Janata Party is threatening All India Trinamool Congress candidates, including state ministers, to secure their support if they do not get a majority after the assembly elections.He also claimed that the Center is planning a demarcation exercise to divide West Bengal, with parts of the state likely to merge with Bihar or Odisha, which he said would cause inconvenience to Bengali residents.“The BJP is threatening TMC candidates, including state ministers, to seek their support if they fall short of the majority mark after the assembly elections,” Banerjee said while addressing poll rallies in Asansol in West Burdwan, Chatna and Onda in Bankura district and Khandhghose in East Burdwan.“BJP is planning to bring a boundary bill to divide West Bengal into three parts. It may merge parts of West Bengal with Bihar or Odisha and torture Bengalis there,” he added, as quoted by PTI.Banerjee alleged that the BJP had struck a deal worth Rs 1,000 crore to oust the All India Trinamool Congress from power in the state.His comments came in the context of a viral video of Humayun Kabir, in which he was heard allegedly claiming connections with BJP leaders including Suvendu Adhikari and receiving an advance of Rs 200 crore out of a Rs 1,000 crore scheme to split minority votes and defeat the TMC.The TMC has sought an inquiry into the matter, while the BJP and the Aam Janata Unyan Party have dismissed the video as AI-generated.“They (BJP) have made a Rs 1,000 crore deal to oust the TMC from power in West Bengal,” he said. He accused the BJP of bribing voters ahead of elections and described the Special Intensive Revision of Voters List (SIR) as the “biggest scam in the country” in recent times.“SIR is the biggest scam the country has seen in recent times. Everyone in the world knows that your government will fall in 2026. Then we will repeal all the anti-people laws brought by your government,” he said. “BJP bribes voters before polls. But they forget their promises after polls are over. It was seen in Bihar elections too.”Banerjee also alleged that the BJP would try to influence the polling process and urged voters to be vigilant and monitor the voting machines.“Beware of voting machines. BJP has planned slow polling and slow counting. Let all their plans be foiled,” Banerjee said.He also alleged that the BJP was planning to give people “spiked tea and sweets” to “loot votes”.
