Nandigram: TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, who is contesting the assembly elections from Nandigram, was greeted with ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans by BJP supporters on Tuesday at Reyapara here, where she had been camping for the past two days.
The chief minister, moments before she was about to leave for her programme at Bhangabera in the constituency – set to go to polls on April 1 — was seen sitting calmly inside the vehicle, as police personnel deputed for her safety made sure that the saffron camp supporters got out of her way.
Banerjee, who is scheduled to address multiple rallies on the last day of the campaigning here, had strongly reacted to ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans in the past.
A senior BJP leader here said raising ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogan was not a crime, as people across the country revere the Hindu deity.
Local TMC members, however, claimed that the “BJP, sensing defeat, is resorting to cheap tactics” to inconvenience others.
The TMC chief, an MLA from Bhawanipore, this time decided to fight the elections from Nandigram, where her protege-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari has been fielded by the BJP.
The two had engaged in a bitter war of words over the past few days, with Adhikari accusing Banerjee of practising appeasement politics, and the TMC boss alleging that the saffron camp had been trying to polarise voters on religious lines.
Amit Shah’s Nandigram roadshow
In a show of might ahead of the second phase of West Bengal elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday held a massive roadshow in the high- profile Nandigram constituency.
Standing atop a lorry, decked up with flowers and BJP flags, Shah, with TMC turncoat and party candidate Suvendu Adhikari by his side, waved at enthusiastic crowds that gathered along the four-km stretch between Bethuria and Rayapara in the East Midnapore assembly segment.
Locals queued up on two sides of the road and watched the procession, which inched its way through the narrow streets amid chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’, ‘Narendra Modi Zindabad’ and ‘Amit Shah Zindabad’.
Many of them were seen shooting videos and clicking selfies at the roadshow.
All eyes are on battleground Nandigram, where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has locked horns with her protege-turned-rival Adhikari.
The campaigning in the constituency, which will go to polls on 1 April, is set to end at 5 pm.
Subscribe to our channels on YouTube & Telegram
Why news media is in crisis & How you can fix it
India needs free, fair, non-hyphenated and questioning journalism even more as it faces multiple crises.
But the news media is in a crisis of its own. There have been brutal layoffs and pay-cuts. The best of journalism is shrinking, yielding to crude prime-time spectacle.
ThePrint has the finest young reporters, columnists and editors working for it. Sustaining journalism of this quality needs smart and thinking people like you to pay for it. Whether you live in India or overseas, you can do it here.