West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday attacked the BJP’s ‘Sankalp Patra’ and reiterated her opposition to the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), saying the TMC would revoke it if it comes to power with a majority.
Addressing a gathering ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls, Banerjee also claimed that “free and fair elections are not possible” under BJP rule.
“They have spoken about UCC (Uniform Civil Code) in the manifesto... I will vehemently oppose this. They are in majority today so they will pass the Bill. When they won’t be in majority tomorrow, we will revoke the Bill... Free and fair elections are not possible as long as they remain,” she said.
The Chief Minister also accused the BJP of attempting to introduce a Delimitation Bill in Parliament during the ongoing elections without adequate debate, alleging that it was aimed at “dividing Bengal and conducting NRC”.
“Elections are going on and in the middle of that, they are bringing the Delimitation Bill in Parliament. This was not even debated. The reason behind this is that they want to divide Bengal and conduct NRC here... I reiterate this, BJP will be gone one day very soon,” she said.
She further reiterated her opposition to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, calling it “an attempt to bring the BJP to power”.
“Our fight is with ‘Vanish Kumar’ (referring to CEC Gyanesh Kumar)... SIR is a huge scam. This is not SIR but an attempt to bring BJP to power. This is a scam to delete names. 90 lakh names have been deleted,” she alleged.
Banerjee also claimed that “two false affidavits were filed to cancel my candidature from Bhabanipur”, adding, “They could not do it, but imagine if they could do this against me, what all they can do against others.”
On Friday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched the BJP’s ‘Sankalp Patra’ for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, presenting it as a roadmap to take the state from “despair to development.”
Outlining key commitments, Shah said the BJP has made 15 major promises in its manifesto, focusing on governance, development, and security in the state.
On legal and governance reforms, the BJP has proposed implementing the UCC and introducing stricter laws to curb cattle smuggling.
West Bengal will vote in two phases on April 23 and 29, with counting scheduled for May 4. The elections follow the 2021 Assembly polls, in which the TMC secured a landslide victory with 213 seats, while the BJP emerged as the principal opposition with 77 seats, setting the stage for a high-stakes contest this time.
(With inputs from ANI)