BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday spoke to his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee over telephone and congratulated her over Trinamool Congress’ landslide victory in the Assembly elections. The victory of TMC in West Bengal augurs well for BJD which maintains that regional parties enjoy political clout in their respective states. BJD vice president Debi Prasad Mishra said, “It is evident that people still have trust in regional parties.”
The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC is all set to form government for the third consecutive term in West Bengal even as BJP, which pressed all its heavyweights for electioneering in the State failed in the polls. “Mamata Banerjee-led TMC’s victory in West Bengal is remarkable as people have reposed their faith in her once again. The results indicate that regional parties have a strong base and presence in states. The wave of central parties works to some extent in parliamentary elections, but not in Assembly polls,” Mishra said, adding the results in West Bengal will have a country-wide ramification.
Congress which failed to open its account in West Bengal described BJP’s poll debacle as a big setback. Party MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati said, “The West Bengal election results are a big blow for BJP. The party would have created a jungle raj in Bengal had it come to power,” he added.