Winning BJP MP ‘praises’ TMC’s ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ scheme

Kolkata: The winning BJP candidate Saumitra Khan has reportedly stoked a controversy by saying that wives of several state BJP workers voted for Trinamool Congress’ (TMC) for the ‘Lakshimir Bhandar’ scheme.

Despite BJP’s poor performance in Bengal in the Lok Sabha elections, Khan was one of the leaders who was able to win the seat once again after 2019 Parliamentary polls. He defeated his wife Sujata Khan who contested on a TMC ticket.Saumitra is learnt to have reportedly praised the TMC-led Bengal government’s scheme ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ for the electoral success the party saw in this election. He is learnt to have said that several of the BJP workers in the state voted for TMC due to this scheme where general category women are being given Rs 1,000 as allowance and Rs 1,200 for SC/ST category.

Khan, besides praising the BJP central leadership for its role in his victory, reportedly said that some of his party colleagues need to shed their ego which he felt has been a reason for their defeat in this election. He said that one needs to first understand politics instead of having a big ego which led to the defeat of several sitting BJP MPs from Bengal. Further, as per reports, Khan is also learnt to have praised Abhishek Banerjee’s organisational skills and admitted that most of the minority and women vote went to the TMC, thus helping it to improve its electoral performance compared to 2019 Lok Sabha polls.