West Bengal polls: TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee says ‘Maa-Mati-Manush’ will triumph, counters BJP’s ‘double engine’ claim

Kolkata: Political tensions have escalated ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections as Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday criticised the BJP's "Double Engine" narrative, accusing the party of using central institutions to undermine democratic processes.

In a sharply worded post on X, Banerjee ridiculed the constant mention of the party's popular governance framework, stating, "Double Engine this, Double Engine that. You know what BJP's real Double Engine is?"

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Banerjee claimed the BJP is "misusing democratic institutions".

"One engine runs on misusing democratic institutions, weaponising the Election Commission to delete genuine voters, transferring honest officers to destabilise the state machinery, and illegally importing outsiders to rig the electoral rolls. The second engine runs on recruiting local agents like AIMIM, ISF and AJUP to stoke communal discord, create unrest, split votes, and hand over advantage to the BJP. But the people of Bengal have seen through this dirty game completely," Banerjee said in the post.

Expressing confidence in an electoral victory based on electorate turnout in regions like Joypur and Sonamukhi, Banerjee maintained that the public has rejected these alleged tactics, claiming that he recieved "thunderous response" in many areas.

"The thunderous response in Joypur, Sonamukhi, Indas, and Khanakul has already declared a massive victory for our candidates, Arjun Mahato, Dr Kallol Saha, Shyamali Roy Bagdi, and Palash Kumar Roy. Bengal has decided," he said.

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Concluding his address, Banerjee reaffirmed his party's commitment to the "Maa-Mati-Manush" ideology, promising that government "for the people" would win.

The upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections are scheduled in two phases, the voting on April 23 and April 29, while counting will take place on May 4.

A primary flashpoint in this election is the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which has led to the deletion of over 60 lakh names, triggering widespread protests, legal battles, and allegations from the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) while the BJP frames it as necessary.

In the 2021 Assembly elections in the state held in eight phases, the Trinamool Congress recorded a landslide victory with 213 seats amid an intense contest with the BJP, which jumped to 77 seats. Congress and Left Front drew a blank in the last state polls.