KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee appealed to the voters at a rally in an erstwhile Red stronghold in Bengal to “kick out” the BJP whom she claimed was more dangerous than the Maoists.
The rally in Purulia was strategic given that the BJP had won all four Lok Sabha seats in Junglemahal, which is spread over Purulia, Bankura, Jhargam and West Midnapore districts, in 2019.
“BJP is more dangerous than Maoists. It is like a venomous snake which will finish you off in a single bite and consume everything that comes its way,” Mamata said on Tuesday.
The analogy is being seen as a political gambit given the people in Junglemahal had seen Maoist violence a decade ago. A TMC insider said Mamata sought to deliver the message of ensuring peace in the region.
Accusing the BJP of misleading the people of Junglemahal, Mamata said the elected representatives were not seen in their constituencies.
“Do they visit you? Do they work for you? Have they built roads? Have they brought water connections?... Before elections, they will be very sweet and after elections they won’t care. This is what the BJP is all about.
They only lie,” she said. ‘’Kick them (the BJP) out if they come to seek your vote. If they offer money, accept and reject them.”
Mamata’s Purulia rally came a day after she announced to contest from Nandigram, the epicentre of a farmers’ movement that propelled her to power a decade ago.
By choosing Nandigram, Mamata took the fight to the BJP’s camp as her once trusted lieutenant Suvendu Adhikari comes from the region.