KOLKATA: The BJP's victory in Lok Sabha polls in Bengal should be accepted with humility by party workers as people are looking to the saffron party as an alternative force in the next assembly polls, BJP national secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said Tuesday.
The senior BJP leader urged all party representatives and leaders in the state to reach out to the masses and prepare for future challenges.
The BJP in Bengal bagged 18 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats. The TMC's tally came down to 22 from the 34 it had won in 2014.
Lashing out at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for being "an arrogant administrator", Vijayvargiya said the TMC has lost its golden opportunity to serve the people of Bengal, despite being voted to power for two consecutive terms. We have won hearts and blessings of masses. In victory, we should be more humble and grounded. We should not be arrogant. The masses are watching us. The people of Bengal have ensured our victory that means they have given us added responsibilities.
"We should live up to expectations and work harder to fulfil them," Vijayvargiya, who is also the party's Bengal minder, said while addressing his first meeting with elected representatives and state office bearers after the Lok Sabha election results.
Contending that arrogance has led to the TMC's doomsday in Bengal, he said had the Mamata Banerjee-led party been more humble, it wouldn't have faced such a predicament.
"They were so busy enjoying power that they forgot to serve people. They unleashed a reign of terror and people ended up voting against them. Now on, we should prepare ourselves for the next assembly polls in the state.The victory we have achieved this time in Bengal is the penultimate step, the final step would be when we win the assembly elections In Bengal," he said.
Criticising Banerjee for losing her cool over "Jai Shri Ram" chants, the senior BJP leader wondered whether uttering the phrase was a crime in the state.
"Is chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' a crime in Bengal? Why is it a crime, we would like Banerjee and the TMC leaders to explain," he said.
Referring to Mamata Banerjee's "Jai Hind" and "Jai Bangla" slogans, Vijayvargiya said the party doesn't have any problem with it.
"We don't have any problem with these slogans as Jai Hind and Vande Mataram slogans are an integral part of our Independence struggle," he added.