Party workers sacrifice won't go waste, BJP will win 22 LS seats in Bengal: Shah

BJP chief Amit Shah today accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for "unleashing violence" on her political rivals and said the sacrifice of his party workers will not go waste and it will win 22 of the state's 42 Lok Sabha seats in 2019.

Addressing a public rally here, he asserted that the BJP will oust Trinamool Congress from West Bengal and ridiculed Mamata's bid to form a grand alliance for next year's Lok Sabha polls, saying she should first take care of her own state.

Shah attacked the TMC government for unleashing violence in the state and said that its people "who are used to listening to Rabindra Sangeet are now hearing the sound of bomb blasts".

Shah, who earlier in the day visited the families of the BJP workers who were allegedly killed in the political violence, said their sacrifice will not go waste.

"More than 20 of our party workers were killed in the state in recent past. Their sacrifice will not go waste. I challenge Mamata Banerjee that we will dethrone you in coming days," he said.

He further said the next general elections will lay the foundation stone for change in the state and the party will win 22 Lok Sabha seats. The BJP had won two seats in the 2014 elections.

Hitting back, the TMC advised Shah to pay more attention to his party's government at the Centre.

TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee told reporters in Kolkata that Shah should be "more worried" about the BJP-led government at the Centre and in states where assembly polls are due, instead of "looking" at West Bengal.

Referring to Shah's claim that BJP would win 22 Lok Sabha seats in the state, he said the party was "day dreaming".

On Mamata's move to form a grand alliance against the BJP in the next parliamentary poll, Shah said, "We have no objection to her move to cobble up an alliance of opposition parties, but before doing that she should be worried that the political ground in Bengal is slipping out of her hands."
He said though Mamata had raised the slogan of 'Maa Mati Manush' and claimed to work for the development of the people, "The bitter truth is that the women folk in rural areas have still to walk five km to fetch water and electricity has not reached the homes of the poor."
"Violence has never been the culture of Bengal. This is a state of great personalities such as Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhya among others. And you all can see what Mamata has done to this state."
He said BJP's politics of dividing people along religious lines will not work in West Bengal and the people of the state "will defeat the sinister designs of BJP."