A year after losing in the high-octane West Bengal Assembly elections, BJP president J P Nadda said on Thursday that the party would have won if the deadly second wave of Covid had not disrupted campaigning.
Mr. Nadda further claimed that the party would continue to struggle to maintain Bengali pride and expose those who attempt to denigrate it in a letter to the state’s people.
“With the rapidity with which we had gained popularity throughout the election campaign, it seemed clear that we would hit the right note and gain power. However, just after the fourth round of polling, the second wave of Covid compelled us to call off our campaign. “Mr. Nadda mentioned this when speaking at a citizens’ meeting.
Last year, West Bengal went through an eight-phase Assembly election.
“The campaign had essentially come to a halt by the fourth phase, and elections in the remaining stages were held without any campaigning. We are convinced that the next time we come to power, we will have a triumph rally at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata, “Mr. Nadda said.
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The BJP president stated that the sight he observed on his arrival at the airport here reflected people’s desire for change in the state, claiming that they are fed up with alleged lawlessness.
“India is a dynamic society that responds and reacts at the appropriate times. We must continue our democratic struggle to overthrow the TMC, “he said
Despite a high-octane election campaign, Mr. Nadda’s remarks come a year after the party fell short of defeating the TMC, winning 77 seats in the 294-member Assembly. The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, on the other hand, swept to power for the third time in a row, with 213 seats.
Infighting and emigration have plagued the state BJP unit after the Assembly election debacle. Since the election results were announced in May last year, former union minister Babul Supriyo, party MP Arjun Singh, and five lawmakers, including its national vice president Mukul Roy, have crossed over to the TMC.
“We must protect and defend Bengali pride and continue to fight for it. It’s a question of honor and pride. Those who attempt to denigrate and harm Bengali pride must be exposed. Our actions, talks by Swami Vivekananda, and our activities are all examples of Bengali pride, “he said
The governing TMC and the BJP attempted to take the heritage of nationalist heroes such as Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, and social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Swami Vivekananda during the assembly election campaign.
Fighting for impoverished people’s rights and rescuing the state from the “syndicate” and “tolabaj” (extortionist) rule would be the ultimate struggle for Bengali pride.
In West Bengal, the term’syndicate’ refers to a group of businesses reportedly sponsored by the governing party who allegedly push promoters and contractors to acquire building materials at exorbitant costs, frequently of substandard quality.
Mr. Nadda claimed that no one had ever anticipated that Lalu Prasad Yadav, the former chief minister of Bihar, would go to prison, but “that became a reality as the law followed its path,” referring to the saffron party’s campaign to reshape the state’s political landscape.
“Similarly, a similar event will happen here (West Bengal) in the not-too-distant future,” he said.
One of the visitors asked Mr. Nadda to talk to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and guarantee that those engaged in the crimes being probed by the CBI were punished, to which he answered that this would also happen.
In response, the TMC inquired on Twitter how Mr. Nadda could speak about punishment in instances still being investigated and whether the two work together.
“As a result, @BJP4India = CBI! At a political gathering, @JPNadda discusses penalties in instances under investigation by the CBI. In what capacity is the BJP’s National President speaking? Is the CBI thus in cahoots with the BJP? Is the CBI only a tool of @narendramodiji? “The TMC sent out a tweet.
