Shortcut to change lies through Bhabanipur: Shah at Bengal rally

Kolkata: Union Home minister Amit Shah on Thursday turned BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari’s nomination filing from Bhabanipur into a high-voltage political spectacle, claiming he had a “shortcut” to bring about “paribartan” (change) in West Bengal, defeating Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in her own constituency.

Shah said while the BJP would otherwise have to win 170 seats to form the government with a comfortable majority, a victory for Adhikari in Bhabanipur alone would automatically bring change to the state’s politics. Assembly polls will be held on April 23 and April 29. Votes will be counted on May 4.

Addressing a rally ahead of a roadshow from Hazra Crossing in south Kolkata before accompanying Adhikari for his nomination filing, Shah framed the Bhabanipur contest not merely as another Assembly seat battle, but as the symbolic centrepiece of the BJP’s campaign to unseat the Trinamool Congress government in the assembly elections.

“Change will happen in West Bengal, but should Bhabanipur also bring change or not? I have come with folded hands to appeal to you – please ensure a massive victory for our candidate Suvendu Adhikari for the liberation of entire Bengal” Shah told the crowd.

Shah said he had personally persuaded Adhikari to contest from Bhabanipur, the chief minister’s pocket borough, instead of limiting himself to his traditional bastion of Nandigram.