KOLKATA: Kicking off her by-election campaign in Bhowanipore, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday urged the electorates to vote for her saying otherwise she would not be able to continue as the chief minister of the state.
"A single vote is very important to me. If you don’t cast your vote thinking that Didi will surely win this election, it will be a major mistake. If there is heavy rain or storm, don’t sit idle at home...cast your vote. Otherwise, I will not able to continue as the chief minister. You will get another new chief minister," said Mamata while addressing a rally at Ekbalpore.
The tone and tenor of Mamata’s appeal is said to be a reflection of his desperation to win the by-election. Even after Trinamool Congress secured a thumping majority in the recent Assembly elections by bagging 213 out of 292 seats, Mamata appealed to get every single vote in her favour.
The BJP, which has emerged as Mamata’s contender in Bhowanipore, did not miss the opportunity to highlight the chief minister’s "appeal for single vote" for its political gain. "The tide in Bhowanipore is not exactly what Mamata Banerjee had expected. It seems she has sensed that the going is getting tougher for her as polling day draws closer. She has now been forced to come out and campaign. But the silence of the voters is where the real story lies," tweeted BJP’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya.
Reiterating the conspiracy theory against her citing the Nandigram mishap in which she was injured, Mamata said, "The incident was aimed to kill her. I got sandwiched between the door of my vehicle and front seat. They targeted my throat. But fortune favoured me and my life was saved as I received injuries on my leg. I still suffer from pain."
The chief minister had carried out her month-long poll campaign on a wheelchair with her plastered left feet and the BJP had alleged it was to draw the sympathy of the voters of Bengal.
Mamata, while addressing rallies, had not missed the opportunities to narrate her plight displaying her injured feet.
Meanwhile, BJP’s newly appointed West Bengal state president Sukanta Majumdar and other functionaries were not allegedly allowed by police to campaign for the by-election in the Bhowanipore Assembly constituency near Mamata Banerjee’s residence on Wednesday.
The BJP alleged they were waylaid on Harish Chatterjee Road which leads to the residence of the chief minister who contesting in the by-poll to retain her chief ministerial tenure. Police said the BP functionaries did not have vaccination certificates and tried to breach the high-security zone.