Ahead of PM Modi's expected arrival in Kolkata today, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari issued an open challenge to West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, saying the "son of the soil" will defeat the outsider in Nandigram. The BJP named Adhikari, a former minister in Banerjee's cabinet, as its candidate in the Nandigram seat in Purba Medinipur district, from where the chief minister will also contest the assembly elections.
"Why have you deserted your Bhowanipore constituency? Why have you run away? Is it because the BJP had won in the booth at Mitra Institution in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections? You cannot even win in your own locality," Adhikary said at a rally in Behala area of Kolkata.
Exuding confidence of trouncing Banerjee in Nandigram, Adhikary said, "I had defeated Lakshman Seth in Nandigram, I will defeat the honourable [Banerjee] this time. She is an outsider in Nandigram whereas I am a bhumiputra [son of the soil] of the area."
PM Modi will sharpen BJP's campaign for the high-octane assembly elections in West Bengal with a mega rally at the Brigade Parade Grounds today. The prime minister's Sunday rally is said to be culmination of the "Parivartan Yatra" launched by the saffron party in the poll-bound Bengal in February this year.
Today's rally will be the first major event of the saffron party in West Bengal after declaration of eight-phase elections in the state. The BJP has planned to make it a grand success with a record crowd presence which the iconic ground has never witnessed.
The rally might also throw up surprises as a few noted personalities including Bollywood actor Mithun Chakraborty might be present on the dais. Once considered close to the CPI(M), Chakraborty was Rajya Sabha MP for the TMC for few years, before resigning expressing desire to quit politics.
After having a limited presence in the politically polarised state for decades, the BJP has emerged as the ruling Trinamool Congress's main rival by winning 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal 2019 general elections,only four less than TMC's tally of 22. With the BJP's strength increasing in the state in the last few years, its leaders are upbeat that the party will end Banerjee's 10-year rule in the state polls. Elections for the West Bengal assembly will be held in eight phases beginning with polling for 30 seats on March 27.
-Inputs from PTI
