Shah campaigns for actor Rudranil in Mamata's backyard
(PTI desk)
On a door-to-door electioneering drive, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday went around Kolkata's Bhabanipur Assembly constituency, considered to be a backyard of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Shah was here to drum up support for actor-turned-BJP candidate Rudranil Ghosh, a political newbie fielded from the south Kolkata area which has a sizeable Gujarati population.
Women blew conch shells, applied 'tilak' to welcome Shah
Women were seen welcoming him by blowing conch shells and applying tilak on his forehead as he visited homes and handed over leaflets asking people to vote for the saffron party. "Kamal chinho me vote dijiye" (cast your vote for lotus symbol), Shah was heard telling the residents with folded hands.
Shah was accompanied by Swapan Dasgupta, party workers, state leaders
Bhabanipur which has a sizeable Gujarati population was Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's pocket borough till she decided to switch to Nandigram this election. Besides Rudranil, Shah was accompanied by BJP's Tarakeswar candidate Swapan Dasgupta, party workers, and state leaders. As Shah went around Bakulbagan locality and nearby pockets of the constituency, police, commandos, and BJP volunteers tried maintaining security, without disrupting his outreach program.
BJP will win Bhabanipur seat by a huge margin: Shah
"Mark my words, BJP is going to win Bhabanipur seat by a huge margin like other seats," Shah told reporters. Later, Shah had vegetarian Bengali lunch at the apartment of BJP old-timer and state leader Samarendraprasad Biswas in Justice Chandramadhab Road area of the constituency.
Poll officer suspended for taking EVMs to TMC leader's house
Meanwhile, a polling officer in West Bengal was suspended on April 6 after he took four Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and four Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) to the house of his relative, who is a Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader. The incident comes in the midst of an intense election, as the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hopes to unseat the ruling TMC.
West Bengal election schedule
Assembly elections in West Bengal are being held in eight phases: March 27 (in 30 Assembly constituencies), April 1 (30), April 6 (31), April 10 (44), April 17 (45), April 22 (43), April 26 (36), and April 29 (35). Elections will be held across 1,01,916 polling stations. The term of the Assembly ends on May 30, 2021. Votes will be counted on May 2.
