Shah to unveil BJP charges vs TMC ahead of polls

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will on Saturday unveil a compilation of the BJP’s allegations against the TMC Government in West Bengal ahead of the assembly elections in the state, a senior party leader said.

The document, titled ‘Abhiyognama’ or ‘charge sheet’, compiles alleged instances of corruption and misgovernance during the 15-year tenure of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Shah is scheduled to arrive in Kolkata late on Friday evening and release the ‘charge sheet’ at a hotel in New Town on Saturday afternoon. The ‘charge sheet’ will highlight the alleged “failures” of the TMC Government across 14 sectors, the leader said. Allegations related to corruption in the administration, collapse of law and order, safety concerns for women, prevalence of syndicate raj, and crises in health and education are expected to figure prominently in the ‘charge sheet’, he said.

The BJP plans to use the ‘charge sheet’ to underscore TMC’s alleged shortcomings and subsequently present alternatives in its election manifesto or ‘Sankalp Patra’, which is likely to be released in the first week of April, he added.

Shah has made multiple visits to West Bengal over the past two months, participating in organisational meetings, public rallies, and outreach programmes, including the ‘Poriborton Yatra’, to strengthen the party’s grassroots network and fine-tune poll strategies.

West Bengal’s 294-member assembly will go to the polls in two phases, on April 23 and April 29, with counting of votes scheduled on May 4.