Sukanta Majumdar pans TMC, says Mamata's Panchayat polls campaign validates BJP's strength

Bharatiya Janata Party West Bengal unit chief Sukanta Majumdar took a swipe at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Panchayat polls campaign for her party Trinamool Congress (TMC) and claimed that her return after 12 years for the local elections validates the growing strength of the BJP in the state.

"These people (Trinamool Congress) were saying after May 2, 2021, (State Assembly election results) that the BJP has gone. But today, a leader like Mamata Banerjee has to return to the ground after 12 years for the Panchayat elections, this shows how strong the BJP has become," Majumdar said on Sunday.

Majumdar further stated, "Mamata Banerjee is returning to the ground to campaign for the Panchayat polls. This is a great achievement for us. Now she is thinking that her opposition has become so powerful that she has to return to the ground, and that too from North Bengal." He added that the West Bengal Chief Minister's downfall will start from North Bengal itself.

Highlighting concerns over potential violence during Mamata's poll campaign, the BJP leader claimed that TMC's nurtured goons might resort to more violence to intimidate the BJP. However, Majumdar assured that the BJP would not be afraid and would give a fitting reply to the TMC. The saffron party leader claimed that Mamata's party will 'collapse like a house of cards'. 

BJP national vice president Dilip Ghosh also questioned the TMC supremo's decision to campaign for the Panchayat elections. Ghosh suggested that her involvement in the rural polls was a result of her worries about the outcome.

"When her party leaders claim that she is a potential prime ministerial candidate, it is expected that she campaigns for the Lok Sabha and the assembly elections; it seems she is worried about the outcome of the polls,” Ghosh told reporters on Sunday in Kolkata.

Mamata to campaign in Panchayat elections

Commencing her campaign for the upcoming Panchayat elections, Mamata Banerjee will kickstart the process from Cooch Behar on Monday. Responding to BJP's allegations, TMC MP Satabdi Roy rubbished the claim and defended Banerjee's decision to campaign for the Panchayat elections. Roy stated that Banerjee is a Chief Minister who freely mingles with the general public and has taken the administration to the doorsteps of the people. She dismissed the BJP's concerns, saying, "It is they (BJP) who are worried that Mamata Banerjee is campaigning."

Notably, both the ruling TMC and opposition parties, including BJP, CPI(M), and Congress, have intensified their campaigns for the July 8 Panchayat polls in West Bengal.

(With inputs from agencies)