Advani wanted Mamata to win in West Bengal, says BJP

KOLKATA: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Lal Krishna Advani had initially disapproved of the decision taken by the party's West Bengal unit to field candidates in almost all seats in the Assembly elections as he felt it would prove disadvantageous to the Trinamool Congress, BJP State president Rahul Sinha told journalists on Monday.

Mr. Sinha said Mr. Advani had accepted the arrangement only after he was convinced that, given the polarised political situation in the State, the large number of BJP candidates would not dent the Trinamool's chances of overthrowing the Left Front government.

“Though Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee went about slamming the BJP at all her campaign rallies alleging us to be partnering with the Left Front, the truth is that Mr. Advani wanted her party to emerge victorious as he was certain that it was only the Trinamool Congress that could oust the Left Front government from West Bengal,” Mr. Sinha said.

Mr. Sinha's remarks were in answer to a question whether the BJP's prospects were harmed due to the absence of sting against the Trinamool, in the campaign of senior party leaders. The BJP failed to win a single seat.

“Not disheartened”

Admitting that the failure was “painful,” Mr. Sinha said the party was not disheartened as it saw the rout of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) as an opportunity to strengthen its own organisation in the State.

“The manner in which the top-rung leadership of the CPI(M) has been decimated in the elections, it can no longer play the Opposition's role properly. The BJP will fill the vacuum now with an eye on the 2013 panchayat and 2014 Lok Sabha elections.”

Vote share

Refuting reports that the BJP's vote share had dropped in the Assembly elections in comparison to the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, Mr. Sinha said that unlike in 2009, when the party had forged an alliance with several smaller parties such as the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad and others, the BJP had fought the 2011 elections alone. Thus, he said, an illusion of lesser vote share was created.

Alleging that BJP workers and candidates had been attacked by Trinamool supporters after the declaration of the poll results, he said the Trinamool leadership should restrain its cadres from committing the same mistakes as the CPI(M).

Raktima Bose, The Hindu, Tuesday, May 17, 2011