BJP’s Hasirani Rath wins Nandigram by 1,22,753 votes while the party’s Rejinagar candidate Shankharvah Sarkar wins by 72,744 votes. The party had predicted a victory margin of more than 1 lakh votes in Nandigram, which is the Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s erstwhile constituency.
Adhikari, however, did not see this as a new trend. “These are not new trends. Bengali-speaking Muslims were told that after BJP came in that everyone will be sent to Bangladesh,” said Suvendu Adhikari while citing the reasons for the victory in both constituencies as the support of Muslims, dismissing misinformation spread earlier by the Mamata faction of TMC.
The CM said that indulging in divisive politics has been proved wrong which people in West Bengal have seen in five months. “That is why they (Muslims) want to work hand in hand with the government. I have extended a hand of friendship in May, I am happy,” he said.
Adhikari also attributed the huge victory margin to women who are beneficiaries of the Annapurna Yojana, a monthly social welfare scheme of ₹3,000 for low-income households.
While the opposition including the Congress has called it foul play at the ballot box, Adhikari asks whether it can prove that any symbol was hidden from voters at the ballot box. “I had said Nandigram will break my record,” he said.
Adhikari pointed out that though he wanted to go to Nandigram for the election results, he refrained from going in the government helicopter for political purposes.
Promises poured in for people of Rejinagar with the CM folding his hands in gratitude towards the Muslim minority dominant constituency that chose BJP over Aam Janata Unnayun Party (AJUP) candidate Golam Nabi Azad who trailed right after the BJP candidate. Azad is the son of AJUP founder Humayun Kabir, who had won this seat in May, but gave it up and retained Nowada. Promises by the CM included a 200-bed hospital in Rejinagar, a college and a Narkelbari bridge apart from industrialisation all within two to three years.
Bagging a total of 209 seats after the latest tally, the saffron party is confident of being the dominant force among voters in the state and using the weak opposition to their advantage.
