"During my second campaign, I visited a temple where the priest asked me my 'gotra'. I told him — Maa Mati Manush. This reminds me of my visit to Tripura's Tripureshwari temple where the priest had asked me my 'gotra' and I had told him too 'Maa Mati Manush', actually I'm Shandilya," the chief minister said.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee
West Bengal Election 2021: In what is being seen as a last-ditch attempt to woo Hindu voters in Nandigram where she is pitted against her former general Suvendu Adhikari, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday disclosed her ‘gotra’, and said that she was a ‘Shandilya’. On the last day of campaigning for the second phase, Banerjee recalled a temple visit where a priest had asked her about her gotra. She said she told the priest her gotra was ‘Maa Mati Manush’. But later she said: ‘Actually, I’m Shandilya’.
“During my second campaign, I visited a temple where the priest asked me my ‘gotra’. I told him — Maa Mati Manush. This reminds me of my visit to Tripura’s Tripureshwari temple where the priest had asked me my ‘gotra’ and I had told him too ‘Maa Mati Manush’, actually I’m Shandilya,” the chief minister said.
The contest between Suvendu and Mamata is very tight because of the demography of Nandigram. The constituency has about 30 per cent Muslims votes and the rest 70 per cent are Hindus. While Mamata is confident of minority votes, the same can not be said for Hindus. Mamata needs to get part of Hindu votes to sail through the contest. Keeping numbers in mind, Mamata tried to balance her image and prevent a reverse consolidation of Hindu votes against her. During her campaign for Nandigram, she visited about dozens of temples and recited Chandi shlokas to show she was pro-Hindu. On Tuesday, Mamata briefly got back on her feet to sing the national anthem during the end of a public address in Nandigram.
Reacting to her ‘Shandilya’ remarks, Union Minister and BJP leader Giriraj Singh said that Mamata was telling the ‘gotra’ as she was scared of defeat in Nandigram. “Due to fear of losing polls, Mamata Didi has told her gotra. Didi, just tell me, if ‘Shandilya’ is also gotra of Rohingyas and infiltrators. She’s scared now, that’s why sometimes she is attacking BJP workers like Suvendu and sometimes using gotra,” he said,
Nandigram will vote in the second phase on April 1.
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