'Your nephew Abhishek Banerjee will not be there': Amit Shah targets Mamata, promises Bengali CM
Home Minister Amit Shah's statement comes at a time when the first phase of the elections has concluded. Pointing to the heavy voter turnout in the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections, Shah stated that this proves that "Didi is on her way out, and the BJP is on its way in."
by Zee Media Bureau · Zee NewsUnion Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday claimed that the BJP would form its government in West Bengal and dismissed rumours that the party would nominate an outsider as the next Chief Minister of the state, saying that the next CM would be a BJP worker who is a native of Bengal. He added that only Mamata Banerjee’s nephew would not be there.
Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Shah said, “Bengal’s Chief Minister is spreading rumours that if the BJP comes to power in Bengal, outsiders will rule. I want to tell Didi that the next Chief Minister of Bengal will be someone who was born in Bengal, educated in Bengali medium, and able to speak Bengali. The only thing is that your nephew will not be there; the Chief Minister will be a BJP worker.”
Accusing the Mamata government of collecting ‘Bhatija Tax’ or ‘Bhaipo Tax’ from traders, Shah said that a BJP government would end the syndicate and liberate the people from a politicised and criminalised administration.
“After the formation of the BJP government, traders will not have to give any ‘Bhatija Tax’ or ‘Bhaipo Tax’. We will end the syndicate. The administration, which has been politicised and criminalised, has become a kind of demon. We will liberate the people of Bengal from this demon,” he said.
'BJP is set to come'
Pointing to the high voter turnout in the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly election, Shah said this showed that “Didi is about to go and BJP is set to come.”
"In the feedback we have received, the people of Bengal have decided their future at the first phase. 92.98% voting done on the 52 seats in the 16 districts meant that Didi is about go and BJP is set to come, fear is about to go and trust is going to come. We have done an assessment with all the members of the committee last night. BJP is going to win more than 110 seats out of 152 seats. This means that after the second election phase, we are going to make the government of the BJP purely in Bengal," he said.
Women safety
Shah also said that after the formation of a BJP government in West Bengal, the party’s priority would be to ensure the safety of women.
"The formation of the government of the BJP in Bengal is of great importance. Our first priority will be to provide security to the women of Bengal and to liberate them from fear. The state where the female CM asks about the need for women to leave the house after 7 o'clock, I believe she has no right to rule. Today, I want to assure the mothers and sisters of Bengal that on the 5th, after the government of the BJP is formed, even at 1 o'clock at night, a small girl will leave with a scooter; no goon will be able to look at her," he said.
West Bengal Assembly election
Home Minister Amit Shah's statement comes at a time when the first phase of the elections has concluded. The first phase, held on April 23, covered 152 Assembly seats and recorded a voter turnout of approximately 92%. The second phase is scheduled for April 29 and encompasses the remaining 142 Assembly seats in the state. The votes for all 294 seats will be counted on May 4.