NANDIGARAM: Exuding confidence that BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari will win the elections from Nandigram by a record margin, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said defeating TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, a co-contestant from the seat, was "absolutely necessary to bring about the much-desired change in Bengal.
Shah, while talking to reporters at a party office in Nandigram, said the saffron camp's victory margin "should be so big that no politician will dare to fool the masses with false promises ever again".
"By defeating Mamata didi in Nandigram, you can bring about the much-desired change in West Bengal. You defeat her here, The TMC will automatically get defeated in other parts of the state," he said.
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Referring to a recent incident of rape in Nandigram, Shah wondered why women are not safe in the state, despite "tall claims" made by Banerjee.
"She talks big about women's safety. What is the situation here? A woman was raped here, just a few kilometres away from where she has put up in Nandigram," he said.
All eyes are on battleground Nandigram, where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has locked horns with her protege-turned-rival Adhikari.
The campaigning in the constituency, which will go to polls on April 1, is set to end at 5 pm.
Earlier in the day, in a show of might, Shah held a massive roadshow in the high-profile constituency.
Standing atop a lorry, decked up with flowers and BJP flags, Shah, with Adhikari by his side, waved at enthusiastic crowds that gathered along the four-km stretch between Bethuria and Rayapara in the East Midnapore assembly segment.