'TMC will sweep Assembly polls with over 250 seats'

Kolkata: Trinamool Youth Congress president Abhishek Banerjee on Sunday dared the BJP to hold polls using ballot paper instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and reiterated that Trinamool Congress will win more than 250 seats in Bengal in the 2021 Assembly polls.

"We have seen that wherever there has been voting in ballot, BJP has ended up on the losing side (jekhane jekhane ballot e vote hoyeche BJP vokatta hoyeche). But in places where voting has been conducted in EVMs, BJP has managed to win," Banerjee said, addressing the Martyr's Day rally at Esplanade.

His statement assumes significance in the wake of the results of elections in Karnataka and Rajasthan. In the Karnataka Lok Sabha polls, BJP had won 26 out of 28 seats. But in the municipal polls, when elections were held in ballot, the saffron party had lost. The results have been similar in Rajasthan as well.

Banerjee asserted that Trinamool will sweep the Assembly elections in 2021 with more than 250 seats and Mamata Banerjee will assume the Chief Minister's chair for the third time with a clear mandate. "The people of Bengal will prove that there is no alternative to Mamata Banerjee," he added.

He cautioned the saffron party that their divisive politics to create disturbance in the state will yield no fruit. "Your politics is based upon creating rift among people in the name of religion, but our politics is to provide food and clothing to every single person in the state," he said.

Meanwhile, senior Trinamool Congress leader Suvendu Adhikari appealed to the party workers to launch movement against BJP which is oblivious of the culture and tradition of Bengal.

"The BJP is in the dark about the culture of Bengal and are bent upon portraying its rich cultural heritage in poor light. It is evident from their act of vandalism of the bust of social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. So, we have to unite to thwart such acts and for democracy our call will be to press for ballots and shun EVMs," he said.

Trinamool Congress leader Firhad Hakim also came down heavily upon the BJP, holding them responsible for pushing the country towards financial trouble. "The Centre has surrendered to foreign power and the Prime Minister's call of Acche Din is a far cry from the truth," he asserted.

Trinamool state president Subrata Bakshi reminded the party workers of the significance of Martyrs' Day. In 1993, 13 workers were killed when Mamata Banerjee, then Youth Congress president, had launched a march to the secretariat, with demand of 'No Card No Vote.'

"We were able to set precedence through our movement in 1993 and we are hopeful that our demand of ballot in voting and shunning of EVMs will also prove successful," he maintained.