TMC targeting our workers as elections near: Bengal BJP chief

Indian Express

2 days ago

State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya on Saturday alleged that Trinamool Congress (TMC) supporters in Khejuri area of Purba Medinipur district brutally beat and killed two BJP workers using bamboo sticks, on Friday, likening the incident to 'Maoist-style violence'.
Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Bhattacharya alleged that, 'As elections are approaching, the TMC aggression is increasing.'
'By eleven o'clock on Friday night, during the Muharram committee ceremony at the Paschim Bhanganmari area, two of our BJP activists, Sujit Das (25) and Sajib Chandra Pike (65), were beaten by bamboo sticks. Police arrived at the scene and were trying to run the death as an accident. As the elections are approaching, the TMC aggression is increasing. In the past, the Maoists have killed BJP activists and tried to establish that they are committing suicide,' he alleged.
He further said that the 'Trinamool Congress will not get success this time' in an apparent reference to the Assembly Elections to be held next year.
'People are united this time. The BJP will unite the people, all over West Bengal. For the fourth time, they will not succeed in trying to make West Bengal a West Bangladesh,' Bhattacharya said.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal BJP unit on Saturday claimed that the number of voters has increased by more than 40 per cent in 46 Assembly constituencies in the state between 2011 and 2021.
This is not a random trend. It is a well planned and systematic transformation carried out under political patronage, it said.
'In 46 assembly constituencies, the voter population has increased by more than 40 percent within just a decade. In 7 of them, the increase is over 50 percent. That means nearly half the current electorate is new. And we have not even considered the changes that happened after 2021 or before 2011,' the party posted on its X handle.
'Apart from these, there are 118 assembly constituencies where voter growth is between 30% and 40% percent. Among these 46 seats 10 are from Malda, 10 from South 24 Parganas, 9 from Murshidabad, 7 from Uttar Dinajpur, 4 from Dakshin Dinajpur, 2 from North 24 Parganas, 2 from Jalpaiguri, 2 from Darjeeling,' it further said.
Atri Mitra is a Special Correspondent of The Indian Express with more than 20 years of experience in reporting from West Bengal, Bihar and the North-East. He has been covering administration and political news for more than ten years and has a keen interest in political development in West Bengal.
Atri holds a Master degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University and Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University. He is also an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur.
He started his career with leading vernacular daily the Anandabazar Patrika, and worked there for more than fifteen years. He worked as Bihar correspondent for more than three years for Anandabazar Patrika. He covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections. He also worked with News18-Bangla and covered the Bihar Lok Sabha election in 2019. ... Read More