3 BJP MPs in touch with us, claims TMC
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has claimed that three Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs from West Bengal are in contact with the party, an allegation the BJP has firmly refuted as "fake." This claim follows the recent Lok Sabha elections, in which the Mamata Banerjee's TMC defied exit poll predictions and maintained its dominance over Bengal. During campaigning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah predicted that the party would get 35 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Prominent BJP figures defeated in Bengal elections
Several high-profile BJP figures, including Locket Chatterjee, Agnimitra Paul, Nisith Pramanik, and Dilip Ghosh, were defeated by TMC candidates in the recent Lok Sabha elections. On the other hand, Nurul Islam of the ruling party emerged victorious against Rekha Patra, a survivor from Sandeshkhali fielded by the BJP in Basirhat. Additionally, former Calcutta High Court Judge Abhijit Ganguly won the Tamluk seat for the TMC.
Trinamool Congress defies exit poll predictions in Bengal
Contrary to predictions from BJP leaders and pollsters, including India Today-Axis My India, the Trinamool Congress emerged victorious with 29 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP, which had anticipated securing 35 seats, managed only 12. This result was a significant improvement for the TMC from their 2019 tally of 22 constituencies and a decrease for the BJP from their previous tally of 18 seats.
Banerjee dismisses exit poll predictions as 'manufactured'
Like many opposition leaders, Bengal Chief Minister Banerjee had dismissed the exit poll predictions, saying they were "manufactured at home." "These exit polls were manufactured at home by some people two months back for the media consumption. They have no value," she added. She questioned the credibility of such polls, citing instances where pollsters had inaccurately predicted outcomes in the 2016 and 2021 Bengal Assembly elections.
