Kolkata: Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav, who was touring Kolkata on Tuesday, said that Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is the only leader fighting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and she will again retain power.
“Only ‘Didi’ (Mamata Banerjee) can counter the onslaught of the BJP in this country,” Yadav told reporters after he met Banerjee at Nabanna. He also asserted that his party will extend full cooperation to Banerjee in her fight to save democracy.
The meeting lasted for over 40 minutes, and the SP chief was accompanied by Lok Sabha MP and his wife, Dimple. Yadav was also accompanied by his party’s senior leader Kiranmoy Nanda.
“We will extend full support to Mamata Banerjee in her fight to save democracy. If anyone is competing with the BJP, it’s Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee,” Yadav added. He also accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of introducing special rules only for Bengal. The SIR has been brought in to target Bengal. Yadav’s statement assumes significance in the wake of several regional parties, that are partners in the anti-BJP nation-wide INDIA alliance, having in the past alleged “big-brotherly attitude” against the platform’s biggest constituent, the Congress. Political observers view that Yadav’s remarks are an indirect barb against the Congress which has failed to post notable poll victories against the saffron camp since the 2024 general elections.
“I believe that the secular forces, the brotherhood we share that forms the identity of this nation, will come out on top. The BJP is playing with secularism, and that too in cahoots with the EC which is a constitutional body. We are happy that Didi defeated the ED and she will emerge victorious against the BJP as well. She has our full support,” he said.
Referring to the EC’s roll revision exercise in Uttar Pradesh, where nearly 2.89 crore voters were deleted from the draft rolls, the SP leader alleged that attempts are being made to implement the NRC in the garb of SIR, and harass people.
“The SIR is devised to inflict maximum suffering on people ahead of the polls. It’s a different matter whether SIR was truly implemented in Bihar. But the fact is SIR was created for West Bengal,” Yadav alleged.
“For the first time, it has been seen that the Election Commission and the BJP are carrying out NRC in the name of SIR. Their objective is to delete as many voters as possible. Many people were forced to prove their citizenship,” he alleged further.