Jaya Bachchan may speak against BJP but not against me: Babul Supriyo

KOLKATA: Union Minister Babul Supriyo on Monday said Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Jaya Bachchan, who is likely to campaign for TMC candidates in the West Bengal Assembly polls, might speak against BJP but will never say anything against him.

"I welcome her (Jaya Bachchan) in West Bengal. Though I do not have family relations with her, she knows me very well. She will speak against BJP but she will never say anything against me," Supriyo told ANI.

BJP has fielded party MP Babul Supriyo from Tollygunge Assembly constituency against TMC heavyweight Arup Biswas.

According to TMC sources, the actor-turned-politician will be in West Bengal from April 5 to April 8 for campaigning for the TMC party candidates. On Monday Jaya Bachchan will campaign for TMC candidate from Tollygunge Arup Biswas.

The development comes days after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote a letter to opposition leaders including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav "for a united and effective struggle against the BJP's attacks on democracy and Constitution" and suggested that a meeting should be held after the Assembly polls to "deliberate the issues and chart out a plan of action".

The letter has been sent to several opposition leaders including Congress president Sonia Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, DMK leader MK Stalin, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, CPI (ML) leader Dipankar Bhattacharya, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti.

The Trinamool Congress chief said there is a need to present a credible alternative to the people of India.

Polling for the first two phases of the West Bengal polls were held on March 27 and April 1 respectively. The next phase of polling will take place on April 6.