'Mati handed to infiltrators,' Modi attacks TMC in last leg of campaign; Mamata says 'BJP dar gaya'

E-PaperSubscribeSubscribeEnjoy unlimited accessSubscribe Now! Get features like Political heavyweights across party lines fanned out across West Bengal on Sunday, holding rallies, roadshows and marches as the high-octane campaign for the second phase draws to a close on Monday evening. PM Modi said that under TMC's 15-year rule, the unemployment in West Bengal has reached “a dangerous level”. (PTI/ANI)Addressing rallies in the North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts, PM Narendra Modi focused on women’s safety, saying women were firmly behind the BJP. “I can see the maximum enthusiasm among women here because they suffered the most during the TMC regime,” he said. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee accused central forces of acting at the behest of the Election Commission to favour the ruling party at the Centre. “I heard of two incidents where power to strongrooms housing EVMs was cut. Central forces escorted criminals there to capture them. I am surprised the EC is silent,” Banerjee said at a rally in Bhabanipur, from where she is contesting. Union home minister Amit Shah also intensified campaigning, with LoP in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, also targeting TMC in a post on Sunday. Modi on Sunday sharpened his attack on the ruling TMC, alleging that under chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s 15-year tenure, women and the Dalit Matua community had to suffer the most. His remarks came on the penultimate day of campaigning for the second and final phase of the West Bengal assembly elections, in which the remaining 142 constituencies will vote on April 29. Modi addressed the Dalit Matua community for the first time this election season, weeks after hundreds of members from the community were delisted from the electoral rolls during the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise. “I can see the maximum enthusiasm among the women present here because they suffered the most during the 15-year TMC regime. The record turnout in the first-phase polling has crushed the TMC’s pride. The second phase will ensure a BJP government. Bengal needs a vote from each of you,” Modi said at a poll rally at North 24 Parganas district’s Thakurnagar, the headquarters of the All India Matua Mahasangha, the apex body of the community. The TMC has “stopped talking” about ‘Ma Mati Manush’, the party’s slogan when it assumed power 15 years ago, because doing so “will expose the sins they committed in Bengal”, Modi alleged. “While ‘Ma’ (mother) is now in tears, ‘Mati’ (land) has been handed over to syndicates and infiltrators, and ‘Manush’ (people) have been forced to leave the state in search of opportunities elsewhere,” he added. He also reiterated the poll promises made by the BJP to the people of the eastern state. “Once the BJP government is formed, we will give free rice which will help you save ₹7,000-10,000 a year. TMC gives arsenic-laced water in this region. BJP will provide clean potable water and ₹80,000 for setting up a solar power plant at home. Banks will give each sister a ₹20,000 Mudra Loan to set up a business. Modi will stand as guarantor for the loan,” Modi said. “The Bengal BJP has announced an annual assistance of ₹36,000 for all women and 33% reservation in government jobs.” The Matuas, a part of the large Dalit Namasudra community, came as refugees from Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) after partition in 1947 and the creation of Bangladesh in 1971. Having a strong presence in North 24 Parganas district (Bengal’s largest with 33 seats) and Nadia (17 seats), the Matuas supported the BJP in all Lok Sabha and assembly polls since 2019 because they were assured citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). However, many are yet to receive it despite filling in the forms online. Many of them have sided with the TMC. He also addressed a rally at Haripal in Hooghly district. The PM also offered prayers at Matua Thakur Temple in Thakurnagar. “Prayed at the Matua Thakur Temple earlier today. The ideals of Sri Sri Harichand Thakur Ji and Sri Sri Guruchand Thakur Ji continue to illuminate our society,” he said in a post on X. Later in the day, Modi took part in a roadshow in north Kolkata as the BJP intensified its campaign ahead of the second and final phase of the polls. Union home minister Amit Shah made similar promises to women voters in the Matua belts of Tehatta and Ranaghat in Nadia district, bordering Bangladesh. “The TMC served biryani to infiltrators all these years while Modi Ji has been giving a befitting reply to Pulwama attack and the Pahalgam terror attack. After May 5, every infiltrator will be identified and pushed back,” he said. The TMC has repeatedly countered Shah’s allegation, stating that the Border Security Force which guards the borders comes under the MHA. “Once each of you returns home after this rally, tell 25 people in your family to vote for BJP. Only that can put an end to the anarchy started by TMC,” Shah said at Ranaghat. At Tehatta, which is known for multi-crop agriculture, Shah assured garlic growers that they would get a fair price if BJP came to power. “Garlic sells for ₹200 a kilo around the nation but here they sell for ₹12 because Chinese garlic has been pushed into the market. The BJP will stop such imports,” he said. Polling for 152 of the 294 assembly seats was held on April 23, with a record turnout of 92.35%. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday alleged that the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel tried to “capture” electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the districts that went to polls in the first phase on April 23. “I heard of two incidents in which power to two strong rooms where EVMs are kept were cut off. Central forces escorted criminals to those places to capture EVMs. The faces of these people were covered with blankets. I am surprised that the EC (Election Commission) is silent,” the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief, who is seeking a fourth straight term as the chief minister, told voters and her supporters at a rally in her Bhabanipur seat in south Kolkata. Her seat is among the 142 in seven south Bengal districts, including Kolkata, that will go to polls in the second and final phase on April 29. The campaign ends at 6 pm on Monday. TMC candidate from Cooch Behar South assembly seat in north Bengal Abhijit De Bhowmik raised this allegation on Saturday, but the state’s chief electoral officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Agarwal denied it. “All EVMs are safe. The strongrooms are kept under lock and key and these have been double checked,” Agarwal told the media. Banerjee, however, repeatedly raised the same allegation at back-to-back rallies in Bhabanipur until Sunday night. The chief minister spent the entire day attending roadshows and rallies at Bhabanipur where she faces Suvendu Adhikari, leader of the opposition in the state assembly. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to attend the last Bharatiya Janata Party roadshow on Monday in Mamata Banerjee’s constituency. The votes will be counted on May 4. At Bhabanipur, where the TMC trailed the BJP in four of the eight municipal wards comprising the assembly seat during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Mamata Banerjee told the cosmopolitan population that she works for the people round the year. “The city has developed so much before your eyes. There is no power shortage. No bad roads. Waterlogging is no longer a major issue during monsoon because our civic body has overhauled the drainage system,” Banerjee said. “BJP used to say I don’t allow Durga Puja in Bengal. Reality is that Durga Puja in Kolkata draws tourists from around the world and offers jobs to so many people. When I started giving monetary assistance to community clubs for organising Durga Puja, they (BJP) went to court. BJP said I turned Kolkata into a slum. The poor live in slums. They work with honesty. You cannot insult the poor,” Banerjee said. “The BJP is not coming to power. BJP dar gaya. Jo dar gaya woh mar gaya (the one who gets scared, dies),” Banerjee said at another rally, stealing a famous Gabbar Singh one-liner from 1970’s blockbuster Sholay, while addressing Hindi-speaking voters. (With inputs from Tanmay Chatterjee)