Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee once again invoked the “Khela” (game) slogan while addressing an audience in the Bhawanipore Assembly by-elections. Attacking the BJP she said “khelbo, lorbo, BJP ke harabo … Bharat theke tariya charbo (we will play, fight and defeat the BJP and banish it from India),” the Chief Minister said attacking the Centre and the other saffron Governments of the country including the one running in Tripura.
The Chief Minister who was defeated from Nandgram seat is seeking election from Bhawanipore her home constituency from where she won in 2011 and 2016 before leaving this seat for Nandigram in 2021.
Bhawanipore was earlier vacated by sitting MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay to let Banerjee contest from this seat.The TMC had trailed to the BJP from this Assembly segment in 2019 parliamentary elections.
Hitting the BJP with its own weapon Banerjee questioned the BJP’s Government’s clamping of restrictive orders in Tripura apparently to stop YMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee from organizing rallies in that State.
Referring to the oft repeated allegations by saffron leaders that “Mamata Banerjee Government does not allow Durga Pujas, Laxmi Pujas in Bengal … but now they have imposed Section 144 in Tripura till November 4 … now I am asking how will Durga Pujas, Laxmi Pujas or even the Kali Puja will take place in Tripura … so Are you not stopping the Pujas in that State.”
Aware that her “outsider” plank had yielded results during the April-May Assembly elections Banerjee once again raised the issue saying “the BJP is once again bringing outsiders to Bhawanipore to defeat me ... but I am the daughter of this area … the people will never jettison me … the BJP had brought all kinds of people from all over the country but all of them were discarded by the voters … again the outsiders who are coming to Bengal will get a befitting reply.”
Listing her exploits the Chief Minister said how her Government had dug 3.5 lakh ponds all over the state to harvest rain water and how she has been working round the clock to introduce the people-friendly policies like “Swasthya Saathi (health insurance for all), Sabuj Saathi (free cycles to school students), Rs 10 lakh worth Students’ Credit Cards, Kanyashree (scheme for girl students,” Banerjee said the Centre was allowing the two ports of Bengal to lapse into non-use.
“But we are constructing a third port at Tajpur near Digha,” she said adding if she is allowed to remain the Chief Minister more developments will follow. “If I am defeated Someone else will be the Chief Minister but that is not all … my question is I want to perform … I want to work for you and so I have come once again to you,” she said.