BJP not to field any candidate against Mamata

Kolkata, Aug 29 (PTI) The BJP today said it would not field any candidate against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who will contest from Bhowanipore Assembly constituency on September 25, saying it was a political gesture and appealed to other parties to follow suit."It is only due to political decorum and gesture that our party will not contest against the Trinamool Congress chief who has come to power with a massive mandate," BJP's West Bengal unit president Rahul Sinha said.Sinha also appealed to all other political parties not to put up any candidate against Banerjee in order to allow her to work as chief minister as she has received "an enormous mandate to run the state". Meanwhile, CPI-M sources said the party's Kolkata district committee would take a decision on selection of a candidate against Banerjee.The Committee decision will be ratified by the state secretariat likely at its next meeting, the sources said.TMC state president and state PWD Minister Subrata Bakshi has resigned his Bhowanipore seat to pave way for Banerjee to contest as per the statutory rules to get elected to the Assembly within six months.BJP is a former electoral ally of TMC.

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

Mamata wary of BJP vote division

Why is Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee so wary of the BJP? Why is she so relentlessly attacking it in every election rally? Why is she asking voters not to cast even a single vote in favour of the BJP?

For Ms Banerjee, the stakes in the ongoing Assembly elections are extremely high. She believes that she is on the threshold of power in West Bengal and apprehends that if anyone can play spoilsport, it is the BJP. “The CPI(M) and BJP are bhai bhai. The former has invited the BJP to divide our vote. Casting a vote for BJP means giving a vote to the Left Front,” she has repeatedly told the people.
A close analysis of the last Lok Sabha election results show that Ms Banerjee’s fears are not unfounded. The Trinamul Congress which won 19 seats could have won six more had the BJP not eaten into the anti-Left vote. The Left Front whose score came down from 35 to 15 Lok Sabha seats would have also lost Coochbehar, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Balurghat, Midnapore and Burdwan had the BJP not come to their rescue. So, is it correct that the sole purpose of the BJP in contesting the polls is to help the Left Front? “It is utter rubbish. The BJP and the CPI(M) are ideological adversaries. We cannot even think of helping the communists,” said BJP national spokesperson and co-incharge of Bengal Siddhartha Nath Singh.
Then why did the BJP field candidates in 290 of the 294 Assembly constituencies? “We realised that Left Front would be voted out of power. At a time when the Left is on its way out it is natural that the right should try to occupy the space especially when a large section of voters is also disillusioned with the Trinamul Congress. Our objective is two-fold: to open our account in the Assembly and to increase our vote share,” he added.
Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley told a gathering in Mandirtala in Howrah that BJP would produce an impressive result this time. “A sizeable number of our candidates will win,” he predicted.
To canvas vote for party candidates, the entire galaxy of BJP leaders descended on Bengal. L.K. Advani, Narendra Modi, Nitin Gadkari, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Rajnath Singh, Syed Shahnawaz Hussain and Hema Malini extensively campaigned for the BJP.
“The reason these stalwarts campaigned in Bengal was their belief that the BJP would notch up impressive results in this election,” Mr Singh added.
The BJP leaders had earlier planned to attack only Left Front and spare Trinamul Congress. However, later they changed the strategy and started targeting their one-time ally with equal force. Ms Banerjee also returned the fire. The BJP leaders claim that in nearly 36 seats (mainly in North Bengal, Nadia, Birbhum and Kolkata and suburbs), their party will give both Left Front and Trinamul Congress a run for their money. The BJP may not win more than a couple of seats but it can adversely affect Trinamul Congress’ poll prospects in a number of constituencies. Little wonder, Ms Banerjee has targeted the BJP with such vehemence in this election.

Source: News in deccanchronicle.com 8th May 2011

Target Delhi in BJP’s Bengal plans

Mohua Chatterjee TNN
Kolkata: It is not without reason that Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, focused on main rival CPM, suddenly turned her guns on BJP — a non-entity in the state’s politics so far — during the second phase of campaigning. She has clearly sensed BJP’s serious ambition to emerge as a player in the state, for the first time. That BJP’s gains can only eat into the state’s non-Left votebank, is the greatest concern for Mamata.
 Every constituency has an unprecedented and visible BJP presence. Whether it manages to bag votes or not, the party seems to have decided to ensure that the voters know the names of its candidates. The abundance of posters, banners, flags, wall writings are evidence that BJP has invested aggressively in the state.
The party contested all 294 seats in the 2001 polls, but cut a sorry figure. In 2006, contesting in alliance with Trinamool, BJP got just 40 seats to fight. This time, leaving five seats to local allies in North Bengal the party is working to double its 4% vote share in the state.
Seeking to make the best of the pro-change wave in Bengal, BJP decided to invest in a big way here for the first time. Party chief Nitin
Gadkari is convinced, say party insiders, that there should be no half-hearted effort like in the past, in making a dent that could come in handy in the long run.
Not surprising therefore that the party deployed its top guns — Lal Krishna Advani, Narendra Modi, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and Gadkari himself — to campaign hard in a state where it has no foothold.
There may be little gain in terms of seats this time, but the larger gameplan is to emerge as a new player in the state’s otherwise bipolar politics, where Congress still keeps its own little space, as CPM and Trinamool vie for the lion’s share of votes. BJP’s target for 2014 Lok Sabha is to ensure that Trinamool is pushed back
into the NDA.
While BJP is ideologically opposed to the communists, it realises the party’s entry into Bengal is possible only by wooing non-Left voters in the state.
BJP is playing at taking vote share up from 4% to 8%, which looks achievable this time, claims party leader Siddharth Nath Singh, who is also the co-in-charge of polls in the state, working at it since last September.
According to the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha and the party’s dependable poll strategist, Arun Jaitley, “We are getting 5,000 to 7,000 people at rallies for the first time in Bengal. If we can take the voteshare to 8% now, we try to take it to 12% in the Lok Sabha.” With 8% vote share, BJP hopes to influence results in 25 seats and with 12%, it could make an impact in 50 seats.
With an eye at beating Congress in the LS polls, over corruption and other issues, if BJP can influence 50 assembly segments, the chances of wooing back Mamata to the NDA fold goes up, feels the party leadership.
With this plan in mind that BJP changed tack midway, to train its guns on Mamata, rather than hitting out at the Left, tie up with small parties or their factions and ensure that none of its campaigners take the hard Hindutva line as that will not work in Bengal, where voters are not communally divided. BJP is selling itself on the development plank in the state.

Source: The Times of India, 5th May 2011 P-5

Tea, cigarettes and Bengal's ennui

Chandan Mitra | The Pioneer, 1st May 2011

Nothing has changed in West Bengal in three decades, but the suburban and rural Bengali seems as contented as ever. Maybe that's why Mamata Banerjee is poised to win.

I have campaigned in elections before but never as extensively as I am currently doing in West Bengal. People ask me what’s the point of spending so much time and energy in an election in which the BJP has little at stake. Arguably, we aren’t fighting to wrest Writers’ Building from the Left; that’s Ms Mamata Banerjee’s calling. But over the last six months or so, since the young and energetic Rahul Sinha was vested with the reins of the State party and Mr Nitin Gadkari appointed me Prabhari or central observer, it seems we have succeeded in making the BJP matter in the State. It is not widely known that the BJP’s predecessor, the Jana Sangh, was founded by Syama Prasad Mookerjee here in Bengal. On its own, however, the BJP won only a by-election to the Assembly some years ago. This time, the poll is sharply polarised with the stormy petrel (forgive the cliché!) of Bengal politics having mounted a feisty blitzkrieg to dislodge the CPI(M)-led Left Front from power after an incredible 34 years.

The BJP may be a bit player but it seems to have alarmed the two Behemoths to a significant extent. While the universal ‘Didi’, doesn’t let a single meeting pass without fervently appealing to people not to vote for the BJP, the CPI(M), despite chuckling at the thought of saffron forces cutting into her anti-Left vote, is doing everything to prevent it from reaching out to the electorate by placing obstacles in the way of holding public meetings. Particularly since the Cooch Behar to Kolkata Naba Jagaran Rathyatra the BJP undertook in the first fortnight of February, the party’s popularity graph seems to have surged remarkably despite the sharp polarisation.

Yatras and elections are powerful instruments for a political party to spread its organisational tentacles and the BJP seems to have effectively used these to disseminate its message. I was impressed by the sincerity of the rank-and-file, their conviction that something big is about to happen, and the responsiveness of the crowds that attend BJP rallies. Maybe most of them won’t vote for it in the end, but at least they are listening; so when the BJP returns next time it would be talking to people who are partially convinced.

Two weeks of intensive campaigning (I have another week to go) enabled me to observe many facets of my home State, which I abandoned with finality way back in 1987 when I joined The Times of India in Delhi after quitting The Statesman, Calcutta. I migrated originally in 1972 for my college education but my second, three-year stint in Calcutta in the mid-1980s left me so disgusted with the state of affairs (12 hours-a-day power cuts, telephones that were decoration pieces, traffic that was in total disarray and hope dying with every passing day) that I left determined never to return. Things are marginally better now on those counts but I still find the middle class Bengali frightfully unambitious, content to wallow in self-pity without doing anything about it. So I went about looking for reasons for this collective ennui.

Three days of flying around the State in a helicopter offered some clues. It’s difficult to find a State as verdant as Bengal; no wonder Dwijendra Lal Roy penned “Dhana-dhanye pushpey bhara…” successor to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's “Sujalam, suphalam malayaj shitalam, shashya-shyamalam mataram”. On a flight to Sandeshkhali in the Sunderbans, crisscrossed by mighty distributaries of Ganga, co-passenger Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda gazed at the vast expanse of water and commented: “Itna pani hai, eersha hoti hai (There’s so much water, I feel jealous)”.

Devastated by Cyclone Aila, on the islands in the Sunderbans the harried residents eke out a miserable existence since the fertile soil has turned saline and unproductive. Climate change is wreaking havoc here but the people haven’t woken up to it and merely blame official indifference for their misfortune. But it is the stoic acceptance of whatever fate has ordained that amazed me. The ill-fed, ill-clad men and women — skins glistening in the harsh sun, moisture forcing droplets of sweat to drape their bodies — haven’t forgotten how to smile.

As my Xylo traversed narrow by-lanes of interior villages of my home district of Hooghly I recognised the same contentment on people’s faces. Flocks of goats and mother hens chaperoning their brood crowded the road, slowing my car to walking speed. Old women emerged from their dishevelled thatched huts, annoyed at tranquillity being broken by a big vehicle, to shepherd their chickens, ducks and goats back into their pens. But almost every hut had a party flag uncertainly fluttering; in the backwaters of Hooghly it was mostly the CPI(M)’s hammer-sickle-star, but the towns were awash with Trinamool’s two flowers and the occasional BJP lotus.

Bengal lives, breathes and dreams politics. My travel coordinator Mr Swapan Pal, Hooghly district BJP general secretary, insisted I sip a cuppa of “atulaniya (matchless)” tea at Bannerjee Cabin, a street corner restaurant in my hometown. I had visited the town centre many times in my childhood, watched movies at Kairi and Rupali Talkies, but never noticed the inscription on the silver-gray clock tower, which I discovered had been erected to commemorate King Edward VII in 1911, the very year Lord Curzon announced the shifting of the Capital from Calcutta to Delhi.

Past 10 pm, Banerjee Cabin was bustling with argumentative muffosil Bengalis, animatedly debating the news of the day and its impact on voters, namely, Mr Anil Basu, CPI(M)’s former MP from neighbouring Arambagh, using expletives against Didi. Life goes on as usual in suburban Bengal; nobody has even heard of Anbumani Ramadoss and the ban on smoking in public places. The tea house is smoke-filled, although Charminar has been replaced by more refined brands. Instead of the usual order of “ek cup cha ar ekta false”, meaning one tea and an empty cup for it to be shared, tea shops now serve in Liliputian plastic containers; I was lucky to get a decent-sized kullad!

Tea and cigarettes are integral to Bengal’s culture and I found nothing had changed. Whenever I reached a meeting venue, somebody came around with an aluminium kettle and a sheaf of miniature plastic cups even on the dais. Ms Sushma Swaraj asked me if this was customary, for in north India it’s bad manners to sip anything except water on the rostrum. I said here it was perfectly fine and nobody would mind even if somebody smoked!

All said and done, Bengal is a happy place. Much as migrant Bengalis like me feel frustrated, disgruntled and dejected, I found rural and suburban Bengal contented. That may well be the reason why the CPI(M) could uninterruptedly reign for more than three decades. For all their ideological disputes and theoretical commitment to Revolution, the Bengali resists change. Maybe they have now realised they are getting left behind. But my guess is that Ms Banerjee promises status quo, which is why she’ll win. Mr Budhadeb Bhattacharjee wanted change, which is why he may lose even his membership of the State Assembly! This is not a value judgement though.

BJP’s Bengal blitz rattles parties

Sutapa Mukerjee | Kolkata, The Pioneer, 30th April 2011

The Bharatiya Janata Party has launched a ‘blitzkrieg’ campaign in the State before the West Bengal Vidhan Sabha elections 2011. Even the All-India Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has noticed this; it became visible with its appeal to “refrain from voting for the BJP. The CPI(M) is encouraging them here, just to cut our votes.”

Reacting to this statement, a senior BJP leader simply smiles and says, “What the TMC leader does not realise is that this way she is creating an awareness of our presence here. It is indirect propaganda.”

West Bengal BJP chief Rahul Sinha has been long organising these meetings. Speaking to The Pioneer, he said, “I am extremely happy about the large gatherings in all the meetings and the fact that a lot of youngsters are present in meetings here. I am confident that we will get a good result to all the efforts that we have put in.”

Senior leaders of the BJP have been making rounds campaigning here since mid-April. Each day a leader is trying to cover at least three constituencies reaching the remotest areas. “The plan is to cover at least 294 constituencies,” says Rahul.

In the last few weeks there has not been a single party leader who has not shown up here including Lal Krishna Advani, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Nitin Gadkari, Narendra Modi, Rajnath Singh and the party’s central observer and Rajya Sabha member Chandan Mitra.

It has been rather obvious that despite Mamata attacking the BJP, not a single leader retorted to any of her remarks. They instead elaborated on the “sorry state of affairs in the 35 years of Left rule in Bengal” besides severely criticising the Congress, TC’s ally in these Vidhan Sabha elections. Most of the senior leaders like LK Advani are appealing to the people here to elect an “honest and principled party” in these elections.

Chandan Mitra so far has covered around more than 30 meetings, including padyatras. He has been covering at least three to five meetings daily, either independently or jointly with a senior BJP leader. Hailing from Bengal, he has been at an advantage as compared to the other BJP leaders in relating with the crowd in their lingua franca. Using metaphors and witty remarks, he has been applauded and cheered by the many who gathered in the meetings. To correct the common misperception that the BJP is not for the Muslims, he said in a few of his meetings, “Our party encourages good natured Muslims and Hindus. Above all, we encourage any good and true Indian.”

Most of the BJP leaders have been exhibiting a certain amount of pragmatism while campaigning in West Bengal. For example, addressing a meeting, Rajnath Singh clearly stated, “We are not aspiring to rule Bengal, but we want to have at least a few representations in Assembly so that as opposition we can help the junta by checking the Government each time they fall short of their responsibilities.” Sushma too spoke on the same lines and added that it is equally important to have a dependable opposition who can work for the good of the masses.

At the same time, the leaders did not miss any chance to expound to the people how ‘hopeless’ the ruling party has been. Taking advantage of the fact that there are several people working in Gujarat in different industries, Narendra Modi pointed out while addressing a meeting in Madarihat Assembly constituency in Jalpaiguri district, “These people have come to Gujarat as they have no jobs here. It is not possible to find jobs when there are no industries.”

While refraining from criticising the TC leader in any way, senior party leaders did put forward a few questions. While Rajnath Singh appreciated the TC chief for being honest he also warned her, “Remember if you remain associated with a corrupt party, no matter what, soon you will also have a blemish.”

The fact remains that the BJP has all of a sudden come to Bengal to carpet bomb before an election perhaps for the first time. “This is not far from the truth,” admits a senior party leader. He reasons, “The BJP president has set a target of increasing the BJP vote share by 10 per cent. The party is therefore going to raise special emphasis on the States where it is still weak - Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal and also Assam where the BJP is in a relatively better position.”

The leaders also mentioned that they have been focussing on West Bengal since the beginning of this year. The BJP youth wing had flagged off the Ekta Yatra in Kolkata on January 12th. Post which the BJP had the ‘Naba Jagaran Yatra’ (March of New Awakening), which started from Cooch Behar in North Bengal, moved through 17 districts of the State, and culminated in a rally in Kolkata on February 15. Several senior party leaders participated in this Yatra. At the meeting in Kolkata, the stalwarts were all there including Rajnath Singh, LK Advani, Nitin Gadkari and Arun Jaitley. They used the occasion to kick off the party’s campaign in the State Assembly elections.

Reacting to Mamata Banerjee’s remark that the BJP have suddenly come to Bengal from nowhere Chandan Mitra states, “It is strange if people forget the history of West Bengal. Syama Prasad Mookerjee, who actually formed the BJP (erstwhile Jan Sangh), hails from West Bengal and has been an extremely popular freedom fighter admired by everyone across the country.” He also added that though the BJP had 12 per cent votes in 1991 the numbers slipped to half in 2009, “mainly due to its long alliance with the TC which, perhaps, weakened the party.”

During their campaigns, several senior party leaders have been rather irked with the State administration. Rajnath Singh pointed this out in his meetings and Sushma Swaraj also minced no words in criticising the police et al in the state. The day she was addressing a meeting in Burrabazaar locality in Kolkata when another meeting started off around the same time in the vicinity: “This overlapping of meetings here only speaks of the deteriorating state of law and order in Bengal. I have had similar experiences in Kerala, it is too obvious that the administration is not cooperating with us. Rahul Sinha had even gone on an indefinite fast last week alleging non-cooperation from the administration regarding the BJP election meetings. However, he ended his fast a day later after the Chief Election Officer assured the BJP that he would look into the matter and take proper action. 

Letter by BJP West Bengal President, Shri Rahul Sinha to the CEO, West Bengal

To
The C.E.O. West Bengal


Because of continuous non-co-operation from the part of the District Authorities mainly the D.M.s, Bharatiya Janata Party feels it to be a partisan and non-co-operational attitude towards them.
Right from the start of the campaign, the D.M.s are trying to harass us initially by delay-dallying and secondly even if they are permitting us to land our Helicopter, they are providing wrong co-ordinates for which in many of the cases, our leaders are either becomes unable to land or getting back to base and gathering correct co­ordinate, for which they are getting absent or late for the programmes.
Quite a no. of times, the CEO has to be disturbed to obtain permission of the meeting, while D.M.s are non-co-operative. Let us cite a few examples:

• a) On 18th April, I.C. Uluberia P.S., had given the permission at 2 P.M. where by Nitin   Gadkari's   landing  was   at   11.30AM   ultimately   he   had   to   abandon Helicopter and went by road to reach there at 6 P.M. hampering much of time and crowd.
• b) On 23rd April, ADM, North 24 Parganas, Mr. Randheer Kumar, permitted   Mr. Arun Jaitley at 1.30 P.M. whose meeting was scheduled at 11 A.M.
• c) Wrong Co-ordinate provision failed the chopper to land at Karimpur on 18th April where Mrs. Smriti Irani was scheduled to address. Because of your Nadia D.M., We were harassed before a mass of 10,000 people.

Hence we demand immediate action against marked Govt. Officials who are responsible for co-ordinate provision. Suspension of North 24 Parganas ADM for his indecent attitude. Immediate action in chopper permission cases.


(Rahul Sinha )
President, BJP, W.B.
6, Muralidhar Sen Lane, Kolkata -73

Letter by former BJP West Bengal President, Shri Tathagata Roy to CEC

Dated Kolkata April 23, 2011

The Chief Election Commissioner
Election Commission of India
Nirvachan Sadan, Ashok Road
New Delhi


Sub : Complaint of obstructive and partisan behaviour on the part of Election officials in West Bengal


Dear Sir
I, on behalf of BJP West Bengal, have to bring to your kind notice certain instances of obstructive and partisan behaviour on the part of election officials in West Bengal. Right now, as you may be aware, our all-India leaders are touring the state in connection with electioneering and travelling mostly by Helicopter. Now, taking a Helicopter to a given location requires an elaborate preparation. First, a permission has to be sought from the local police for holding the meeting. Also, a permission from the owner of the plot where the Helipad is to be made has to be got in writing (for private plots) and from the Land Reforms Officer (for government land). Then a permission is to be sought from the SDO, and finally from the District Magistrate. While securing the DM's permission the Latitude and Longitude of the Helipad are also got from the DM's office.
In view of all the preparation necessary, our party workers are applying well in time to the police station and to other officials. It now appears that these officials are deliberately delaying this permission and/or furnishing wrong coordinates. They are also otherwise adopting all kinds of obstructionist tactics and misbehaving with our party workers, including speaking disparagingly about our All-India leaders. As a result the meetings are being delayed, and people are going away, creating a bad impression in respect of the party. In two cases of meetings, one of Shri Nitin Gadkari, our National President, and one of Shri Arun Jaitley, Leader of the Opposition, Rajya Sabha, have had to be cancelled. The resulting embarrassment, not to speak of expenses, can only be imagined.
In particular two officials, namely Shri Randhir Kumar, Additional District Magistrate, District North 24-Parganas and Shri Rezzak Mollah, Inspector-in-Charge, Uluberia P.S., District Howrah, have been found to be exceedingly intransigent and obstructive. Our State President Shri Rahul Sinha has personally  complained against them to Shri Sunil Gupta, Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal. Shri Gupta gave him a hearing, but said that he will take action only after an enquiry. A copy of the complaint made to the CEO is enclosed.
Now, we find this quite unsatisfactory, particularly in view of the fact that the complaint against Shri Rezzak Mollah was made on 18th April. IN PROTEST THE STATE PRESIDENT SHRI RAHUL SINHA HAS STARTED A FAST UNTO DEATH AT THE CEO'S OFFICE.
We request you to intervene in the matter immediately and to ensure that the guilty officers are brought to book. In case any enquiry is still considered necessary against them, we demand that they be sent on leave till the matter of action against them is settled. We also demand an assurance from the CEO that the BJP will be able to carry out its electioneering properly and the officials will not act in a partisan manner.


Yours sincerely,
Shri Tathagata Roy
Former BJP West Bengal President

EC issues letters to RBI, TMC for drafts worth Rs 1.33 crore

New Delhi, Apr 27, (PTI): The Election Commission has asked the RBI to inquire into the conduct of Allahabad Bank and United Bank of India which made drafts of Rs 1.33 crore for Trinamool Congress in poll-bound West Bengal, allegedly violating its guidelines on election expenditure.

The EC has also issued a letter to the political party asking it to explain the "circumstances under which the pay orders got issued by deposit of cash, in violation of RBI guidelines without routing it through the bank account and the Commission's instructions on the subject (election expenditure)." "It has been reported that your party (TMC) has got issued pay orders aggregating to Rs 1.23 crore by the United Bank of India on March 23, 2011 in favour of Ms Visual Audio and draft of Rs 10 lakh by Allahabad Bank on April 24, 20011 in favour of M Power Global Access India Private Limited by deposit of cash. "It may be mentioned here that the Commission in its all party meeting (at its headquarters in the national capital) and through various instructions has advised all the parties to avoid transactions in cash during election process," the EC said in its letter today to TMC President and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee. The EC's action came after an Income Tax investigation report was received by it recently in the case. The EC has asked the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal to "immediately" serve the letters to TMC and both the banks and send the reports back to the Commission. The EC, while issuing separate letters to both the Banks-- Allahabad Bank branch at 2, N S road in Kolkata and United Bank of India at 1, Hemanta Basu Saran at Kolkata-- to "explain the circumstances under which such drafts were made." "The Reserve Bank of India guidelines of 2009 categorically prohibit any remittance of funds by way of demand draft or telegraphic transfer or any other mode for value of Rs 50000 and above against cash payment. "Besides, the EC is concerned about cash transactions during the election campaign as such transactions vitiates the election process," the EC wrote to both the banks. The EC activated an Election Expenditure Monitoring (EEM) cell in its establishment last year to keep a check on poll funding and use of illegal money power at the hustings. Source: deccanherald.com

Hema Malini exhorts people to vote for 'national party' BJP

Calling upon the electorate to go for a nationalist party like BJP, party's campaigner Hema Malini today said West Bengal's main opposition Trinamool Congress (TC) was confined within the boundaries of the state.

"While BJP, a national party, is ruling in nine states the Trinamool Congress has its influence mostly in West Bengal. Though the main opposition here, they are still the alliance partner of Congress, which is bigger outside," the actress said at an election meeting at Ramsagar under Onda constituency of Bankura.
"Therefore, shouldn't the people of Bengal go for the BJP which has its roots all over India and can fast-track the state's development which was not accorded priority by the CPI(M) during its rule instead of Trinamool Congress or the Marxists," Hema Malini asked the crowd.
Referring to the controversy about use of black money in poll campaign, BJP's state unit President Rahul Sinha said neither CPI(M) nor Trinamool Congress could absolve themselves of the slur.
Sinha lambasted both sides for playing dirty politics over murdered party activists to suit their narrow electoral gains.
Polling will take place on May 7 in Onda along with other Assembly segments of the district as part of the fifth and penultimate phase of elections.

Source: dnaindia.com Wednesday, Apr 27, 2011

State BJP president breaks indefinite fast

Kolkata: West Bengal BJP chief Rahul Sinha broke his indefinite fast on Sunday, a day after he launched the stir outside the state chief electoral officer's office, alleging non-cooperation from the administration in allowing the party to hold election meetings. 
Sinha ended his fast after the chief election officer assured the BJP that he would take proper action in this regard, the party national spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters after meeting CEO Sunil Gupta. 
“Some officers have certain biases against us and they are not giving permission for holding meetings in proper time. A programme of Nitin Gadkari and another of Arun Jaitley were cancelled,” Prasad said. 
“The Election Commission has assured us to take proper action,” Prasad said. 
Sinha had demanded immediate suspension of North 24-Parganas ADM Randhir Kumar and inspector-in-Charge of Uluberia police station for “non-cooperation”. 
The EC said it had sought a report from the district magistrates of Nadia, North 24-Paraganas and Howrah.PTI
Times of India

Why Mamata not resign from scam-hit UPA govt, asks BJP

Kolkata, Apr 24 (PTI) The BJP today criticised Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee for not resigning from the UPA government which, it said, is embroiled in a number of scams. "Mamata Banerjee, who was an ally of the NDA had resigned from the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government because of the then Defence Minister George Fernandes' alleged involvement in the coffingate scam. Later, when CBI investigations found the charges to be wrong, she still chose to resign," BJP National Spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters here. "Now when the UPA government is facing some of the worst scams, including 2G spectrum and Commonwealth scam, why didn't she (Banerjee) choose to resign ?" he asked. Accusing Banerjee of using disrespectful language against Advani, he said, "I respect Mamataji as a leader but she should have showed equal respect to our leaders." Banerjee had in one of her rallies said she respected Advani as an elderly person but she did not recognise him as a political leader. Prasad came down heavily on both the Left Front and the TC-Congress alliance for wooing minority voters in the name of reservation and maintaining silence on infiltration, which is a major issue in the state. "Religion-based reservation is not permissible by the court of law but these party into this kind of competitive politics". Quoting from 2011 census report to buttress his point, he said the overall population growth in West Bengal is 13.9 per cent whereas that in districts bordering Bangladesh it was as high as 23 per cent. "It is understood why there is a disparity but not a single political party is saying a word because that might upset their vote bank." Lashing out at CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat for his reported statement that there would be riots if the Left Front lost in West Bengal, Prasad said the Leftist party was trying to 'communalise' the ongoing election. "Left Front has never tried to develop the state because it wanted the poor to stay poor so that they could continue doing politics on that," the BJP spokesman alleged.

IBN Live

Bengal polls: Not allowed the use of choppers says BJP

Howrah:  Three senior BJP leaders had to abandon their plan of campaigning in West Bengal as the administration did not cooperate with the party on the use of choppers, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj alleged here today.
"The administration was not cooperating with the party on the use of helicopter. It led to cancellation of campaign meetings of three leaders. The Left Front government do not want campaigning by senior BJP leaders," Swaraj told an election rally at Raghudebbati in Howrah district.
She, however, did not elaborate on the name of the three leaders or the nature of the 'non-cooperation'.
The Left Front had won seven times in a row in the state but it did not advance seven steps so far as development was concerned, Swaraj, a senior BJP leader, said.
Criticising Trinamool Congress chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, Swaraj said Banerjee would have to share responsibility of various policies of the UPA government which led to price rise and other hardships to the common people.
NDTV News

BJP criticizes CPI-M leader for using foul language against Mamata

New Delhi/ Puttaparthi, Apr 24: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad on Sunday criticized Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Anil Basu for using foul language against Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee at an election meeting at in Hooghly. 
"Anil Bose had used very wrong language for Mamata Banerjee. We condemn the language. It is condemnable. This is not the kind of language, which was used in the democratic politics of India. He needs to apologies to Mamataji," Prasad said.
Prasad further commented on the competition between leaders of CPI-M and Banerjee for providing reservation to minority groups, and said that religion based reservation is not permissible under Indian constitution.
"There is a competition between Mamataji and CPI-M over who gives more reservation to the minority groups. I saw that Mamataji had declared that 50 percent reservation shall be given. CPI-M is also taking in the same tunes. We want to inform Mamataji and CPI-M people that religion based reservation is not permissible under constitution," he said.
Prasad ridiculed the desperation of CPI-M leaders for winning the assembly polls by trying to communalize the ongoing elections.
"The CPI-M is showing the signs of desperation now. CPI-M is disappointed. They are envisaging their defeat. A couple of days ago I came across a statement made by Parkash Karat that if CPI-M looses in West Bengal there would be communal rites. He said like that. What does that mean? You deliberately want to communalise the elections," he added.
West Bengal's 294-member legislature will have assembly elections in six phases.
The first and second phase of voting took place on April 18 and 23 respectively.
The third phase will take place on April 27, fourth phase on May 03, fifth phase on May 07 and sixth phase on May 10.
The Left Front, led by CPI-M, has been in power in West Bengal for more than three decades.
Presently, it is facing a tough challenge from provincial main opposition Trinamool Congress and its ally Congress, who have stepped up pressure by raising simmering issues such as Maoist insurgency, corruption and unemployment.
Daily India

BJP’s Bengal chief Rahul Sinha on hunger strike outside poll panel office

Kolkata, April 23 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) West Bengal unit chief Rahul Sinha Saturday launched an indefinite hunger strike outside the state chief electoral officer’s (CEO) office, alleging non-cooperation by district election officials which was hindering the party’s election campaign.

‘Due to non-cooperation of the administrative officials in several districts, many of our campaign schedules including rallies of BJP president Nitin Gadkari and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, have been cancelled. Several meetings by our leaders before the first two phases of assembly polls were delayed because of the improper coordination,’ said Sinha.

He demanded immediate suspension of North 24 Parganas Additional District Magistrate Randhir Kumar and officer in-charge of Uluberia police station in Howrah for their ‘non-cooperation’.

‘We could not get permission to requisition helicopters or hold meetings in time. Unless the CEO assures us that necessary actions will be taken to resolve the problem, I will not call off my hunger strike,’ Sinha added.

INEWSONE

BJP is using the Assembly elections in Bengal as a platform for its future expansion: Arun Jaitley

BJP MP and leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley today said the party is using the Assembly elections in West Bengal as a platform for its future expansion in the state.

Stressing the BJP is keen to increase its vote-share and is trying to get some representation in the state Assembly, Jaitley refuted the statements of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee alleging the BJP was helping the Left gain lost ground in the state.

“I cannot be concerned whose votes we are eating into. We treat both of them as political opponents,” said Jaitley. He said the Left and the BJP are the two opposite forces of the Indian polity and will always remain so.

However, the BJP leader said Banerjee’s comments reveal the increasing strength and the expanding base of the BJP in the state. Jaitley who has addressed several rallies in the state, said the party expects a reasonable increase in its strength in the Assembly and intends to use the increased support base for the next Parliament elections.

Jaitley who refused to make any comment on the allegations of the Trinamool using black money, said Banerjee’s party was huge resources in the Assembly elections.

“ We are concerned with the new richness of the Trinamool Congress. The party ran probably the most expensive campaign in Assam (and it seemed ) as if they were going to form the government. The Trinamool Congress has definitely got a new set of resources or a new resourceful friends,” Jaitley said.

Jaitley also criticised the Trinamool for its alleged links with Maoists. “It is a very serious concern for politics in Bengal that at some places Maoists claim they will allow only one party to campaign,” Jaitley said. He said while other parties have maintained distance from Maoists, the Trinamool some times softens its stand for votes.

Indian Express

Don’t let Left sun rise in bengal, says Advani

Senior BJP leader L.K. Advani on Thursday took a dig at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee raising a question mark on their honesty and integrity. Speaking at a campaign rally in Kolkata for party candidate Mina Devi Purohit, Mr Advani said that Dr Singh had proved to be a weak economist and also failed to retain his honest image. “I had full respect for Dr Singh till he became the Prime Minister. But under his regime, the country has witnessed the worst scandals and reached the zenith of corruption. Despite being an economist, he has been unable to restrict the price rise which is anti-aam admi. Further he is known to be an honest person but the question arises why he has been trying to shield the other corrupt members of this government,” Mr Advani said. Lashing out at the Left Front government in Bengal, Mr Advani said: “The sunset of the Marxism has already taken place in various parts of the world apart from Cuba, Kerala, Kolkata and Tripura. However, the sun has started to go down in Bengal and you should not let it rise again.” Unlike Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee who was seen attacking the senior BJP leaders on Thursday, Mr Advani did not take her name during his campaign in the city. “Nothing can be said about others (read: Mamata Banerjee). However, it is important to bring a honest government here. Further whoever will be defeating the Left Front is welcome but should lay the foundation of a clean political system,” Mr Advani added. Meanwhile, speaking at another election rally at Bethuadahari town in Nadia, the senior BJP leader said, “Had the chief minister of West Bengal been an honest person then the state would not be in such a poor condition.” he pleaded the voters to give the Left a “permanent leave”.

Deccan Chronicle

Gujarat advances, West Bengal lags: Advani

Senior BJP leader L.K. Advani on Thursday drew a comparison between West Bengal and Gujarat, saying while West Bengal failed to develop in the 34 years of Left Front rule, Gujarat in a short time forged ahead.

“Gujarat is now one of the most advanced states, while West Bengal under Marxist rule has lagged behind,” Mr. Advani said here in Nadia district where his party has put up a candidate for the assembly election.

The veteran leader said the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre had brought significant development to the country and claimed it could have done more had it remained in power for a longer period.

Asking voters not to forget the role of the LF government in opposing computerisation in West Bengal back in 1986, he said the ‘tired’ ruling combine should be given ‘leave’.

Though he refrained from directly attacking the Trinamool Congress in his speech, preferring to fire his salvos at the Left Front, he, however, said that the local Trinamool MLA had done nothing in the last 10 years and therefore should be changed in favour of his party’s candidate.

The Hindu

Functioning of railways shows how Mamata will rule Bengal: BJP

New Delhi, April 18 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Monday hit out at Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee saying the functioning of the railways shows how she will rule West Bengal if she comes to power.

‘If Mamata Banerjee promises good governance for West Bengal, it is very important to see how the railways, the department under her is functioning,’ BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

‘Her silence on the Arunima (Sinha) incident is an example of bad governance,’ he said, referring to the volleyball player who lost a leg after falling from the train while resisting a robbery attempt.

The minister’s ‘silence’ on the fire accident in the Mumbai Rajdhani Express was also criticized by the spokesperson. Three coaches of the train caught fire early Monday morning but no one was injured.

Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, in alliance with the Congress, is the main rival to the ruling Left alliance in West Bengal where the first phase of assembly elections was held Monday. Banerjee is also the chief ministerial candidate of the party.

She has been on the opposition’s target for paying more attention to state politics than railways.

Talking about the BJP’s prospects in the polls, Prasad said the party will emerge as a third alternative in the West Bengal.

‘The people of West Bengal are dissatisfied with 30 years of CPI-M and its alliance’s rule, we believe our performance will be good and we will emerge as a third alternative in the state,’ he said.

inewsone

BJP eyes an opening in North Bengal

L K Advani and Narendra Modi. Nitin Gadkari and Rajnath Singh. Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj. Rajnath Singh, Vinay Katiyar and Hema Malini. BJP leaders of North Bengal cannot remember when such a line-up of central leaders went there to campaign for their candidates. All of them arrived over the past week.

Its confidence boosted by the Darjeeling victory in the parliamentary elections, the BJP is targeting at least 12 of North Bengal’s 54 Assembly seats, including Madarihat, Kumargram, Nagrakata and Dhupguri in Jalpaiguri, Toofangunj in Cooch Behar, Habibpur in Malda and Kalchini in Darjeeling.

Modi’s visit marked his first campaign ever in the state. He addressed rallies at Madarihat, Dhupguri and Toofangunj and at each place he compared Gujarat and West Bengal to show how far his state is ahead in development. At Dhupguri, he pointed at a hospital: “Is it a hospital? It itself is dead. How can it provide treatment to those who are living? This is what you have got after 34 years of Left rule.”

One seat the BJP is confident of snagging is Madarihat. In the last parliamentary polls its candidate for Jalpaiguri, Manoj Tigga, led the winner, the CPM’s Mahendra Nath Roy. Tigga is the BJP candidate for Madarihat this time and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has promised him support. Of the 2 lakh voters, 20,000 are Nepalese, most of them loyal to the Gorkha cause.

Segment-wise, the BJP bagged large vote shares also in Dhupguri (25,000) and Kumargram (21,000) and in Kalchini (46,000).

“After the votes we got in the parliamentary elections and last civic elections, couples with our organisational strength in North Bengal, we hope to do well,” says Rabindra Narayan Choudhury, Jalpaiguri district BJP president.

The CPM dismisses the number of star campaigners. “Anybody can address rallies anywhere. It’s the people who will have the last word,” says Rabin Deb, CPM state secretariat member.

The BJP has been striving to increase its presence in Bengal. Its Nava Jagran Yatra, 2,000 km from Cooch Behar to Kolkata on January 30 to February 15, culminated with an address by four CMs, Advani, Nitin Gadkatri and Jaitley. The Rashtriya Ekta Yatra to Lal Chowk, Srinagar, began from Kolkata, flagged off by Gadkari.

Indian Express