Anti-BJP votes must not split: Urges Abhishek, warns against infighting

Kolkata: Reacting to Karnataka election results, Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday once again called for unity among the Opposition parties in the BJP-ruled states. He also urged them to ensure that anti-BJP votes must not split.

“Defeating BJP must be a priority for the Opposition parties in the BJP-ruled states keeping aside the political differences between various Opposition parties. The Opposition parties must be united against the BJP that plays divisive tactics,” Banerjee told media in reaction to Karnataka poll results where the BJP has been defeated.

“Bengal Chief Minister had started a campaign ‘no vote to BJP’ where she urged people not to cast a single vote in favour of the BJP. The same thing happened in Karnataka. People do not like divisive,” he said.

“Dividing people along the line of religion, divisive politics cannot be an election agenda. Road infrastructure, health issues, and employment should be the top priority. BJP leaders, including Prime Minister and Union Home minister, never talked about development. Instead, they chose to take up divisive issues and misguided people in the name of religion. People first turned down religion-based politics in Bengal in 2021. People have started refusing the BJP. Bengal had shown the path in the 2021 Assembly polls which has been replicated in Karnataka election results in 2023. People of the country will follow in the same footsteps in 2024 when the Lok Sabha elections are slated to take place. People of Karnataka have seen a double-engine government for the past 5 years and rejected it,” he added.

Meanwhile, Abhishek on Saturday told his party men that there will be no place for “corrupt and evasive people in Trinamool Congress”.

He also warned Birbhum party leaders against inner clashes within the party. He also directed the party leaders to warn Abdul Karim Khan, a Purta Karmadhyaksha. It was learnt that Banerjee asked Dubrajpur to take necessary steps against those involved in infighting. An irate Banerjee also threatened to remove Khan from his post. He held a meeting with the Birbhum district party’s core committee.

Leaders who will not behave properly with the people will have no right to stay in the party, Banerjee said in Birbhum’s Nanoor. “Those who will not be active enough to ensure various social security schemes of the government reach the people will be removed from the party,” Banerjee warned.

He held a meeting at Manteswar in East Burdwan on the 19th day of the “Trinamool-e Nabajowar” campaign. “Trinamool Congress will field candidates whom the people will choose. No state or district leaders or MLAs will select candidates. I will review the performance of Panchayats every 3 months.”

Earlier in the day, he said: “People of Burdwan-Durgapur Lok Sabha helped BJP win in 2019 thinking that “achhe din” (good days) will come while some others voted BJP as it took up the Ram temple issue. Ram temple is being set up but Bengal’s dues have been withheld.”