Mamata with nephew Abhishek’s daughter Azania
KOLKATA: Mamata Banerjee won the most important match of her life as Bengal’s voters reposed their faith in their “nijer meye (own daughter)” and propelled her to office for a third straight term. Her party, Trinamool Congress, comfortably went past the two-thirds mark in the 294-seat assembly, leading in 214 constituencies till late on Sunday evening and bagging an unprecedented 48% of the popular vote.
The victory, however, was rendered somewhat bittersweet by a narrow defeat for Mamata in Nandigram. The Election Commission website declared BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari the winner by 1,956 votes around 11pm after a cliffhanger of a day.
Hazaribag: Former Union finance minister and Trinamool Congress vice-president Yashwant Sinha on Sunday demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah, saying they should take moral responsibility for BJP s defeat in Bengal and for insulting its chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
Talking to journalists at his home in Demotand near here, Sinha said, The way Modi and Shah taunted Mamata ji during the election campaigns was ridiculous. It hurt the sentiments and feelings of crores of people in West Bengal. Today, they gave a befitting reply to Modi and Shah for taunting her. They should now take moral responsibility and resign.
DGP West Bengal Police & Kolkata Police Commissioner summoned by West Bengal CM Jagdeep Dhankhar in wake of continually rising post-poll incidents
KOLKATA: West Bengal was in the throes of widespread violence on Monday that allegedly left several BJP workers dead and injured in clashes, and shops being looted, prompting the Union home ministry to seek a factual report from the state government on incidents of attack on opposition workers.
Videos of arson at a BJP office with bamboo poles and roof tiles burning amid worried cries of people running away from the premises were shared by the party. Photos of dead men, and people scampering with apparel looted from a shop were everywhere on social media.
Nandigram: After Hours of Confusion, BJP s Suvendu Adhikari Emerges Winner Don t worry for Nandigram, for a struggle you have to sacrifice something, Mamata Banerjee had earlier said.
Suvendu Adhikary (left) and Mamata Banerjee, in Nandigram. Photos: PTI
Politics21 hours ago
Kolkata: Nandigram in East Medinipur of Bengal played up to its role as the epicentre of the state’s assembly election, as confusion reigned late on Sunday over who had won the seat.
The high-octane and often communal campaigning in Nandigram had seen chief minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee make the unusual choice of switching from her Bhowanipore mainstay to take on her former aide and new BJP entrant Suvendu Adhikari.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing an election rally in West Bengal. File photo.
NEW DELHI: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Sunday beat the BJP in the assembly elections with a massive margin. However, despite the decisive defeat, the BJP has some reasons to cheer about.
Union home minister and BJP’s ‘Chanakya’ Amit Shah kept claiming throughout the election campaign that his party would cross the 200-mark in the 294-member assembly when he said “abki baar, 200 paar”. However, the BJP was way behind the 100-mark leave alone touching the halfway number of 147 seats.
In an embarrassment for the BJP, its stalwarts such as Union minister Babul Supriyo, former Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta and Lok Sabha MP Locket Chatterjee fell like ninepins.