West Bengal BJP vice-president and MP from Barrackpore Arjun Singh welcomed on Sunday people’s mandate in Bhabanipur that saw Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee clinched the victory by a bigger margin of 58,835 votes than her 2011 record where she won by 54,213 votes.
Praising BJP candidate Priyanka Tibrewal for her performance in Mamata Banerjee’s stronghold Bhabanipur, Singh in an interview to News18.com expressed his displeasure over the role of the Election Commission in the bypoll and said the it has “completely failed in their duty as polling didn’t happen under the right atmosphere.”
Here are the excerpts from the interview:
What you have to say about the Bhabanipur poll results?
I welcome people’s mandate but we have to accept that a large section of people didn’t come to vote due to the terror of the ruling party (TMC). Polling percentage in Bhabanipur was nearly 57%, which means nearly 43% people didn’t vote. Out of 57% voting, our candidate Priyanka Tibrewal secured nearly 26,320 EVM votes and 108 postal votes. This means a lot because she secured these votes in a place which is known as the strongest bastion of Mamata Banerjee. I personally believe that she has done an excellent job and we will look forward to working towards strengthening the party at the grass-root level in the coming days.
Are you satisfied with the outcome of the by-poll in Bhabanipur?
See, it is not a matter of satisfaction or dissatisfaction because elections should be fought to win. But in Bengal, it is difficult to contest when you have a party which believes in booth capturing. The ruling party has engaged policemen from bodyguard lines in civil dress to capture booths. They were prepared much in advance before the paramilitary forces came in. In wards number 77 and 71, people were found voting with false ID cards. Trinamool Congress has hacked the entire system through police and the Election Commission is mum.
Are you saying that the Election Commission of India has failed to ensure a free and fair poll in Bhabanipur?
Yes, of course. The poll body has completely failed in their duty as polling didn’t happen under the right atmosphere. There was rampant rigging and booth capturing but surprisingly the Election Commission closed their eyes and ears. False voters are caught on camera and in some cases we caught some of them for booth capturing but despite giving a written complaint to the Election Commission no action was taken. We are surprised with the stand of the poll body. I will certainly take this matter to the highest level of the party.
What went wrong? Why did you lose despite having a good show in Nandigram against Mamata Banerjee?
The ruling party has put an entire administrative force against our candidate Priyanka Tibrewal in Bhabanipur. We were not allowed to campaign (while maintaining the Covid-19 norms). Plainclothes policemen were engaged to spy for our candidate and her vote base in Bhabanipur. Our supporters in Bhabanipur were threatened and terrorised. I believe that our candidate has given a good fight despite such an adverse situation and had it been a free and fair poll, then we could have won the seat… the way we did in Nandigram. I would like to thank all those who voted for the BJP in Bhabanipur and I would like to assure them that in the future, BJP is going to emerge stronger in West Bengal.
Since there is a change in the state BJP president, do you think that the party will flourish under his leadership in Bengal?
BJP is the world’s largest and organised party. In Bengal too, in coming days the party will reach every household as a part of its outreach programme. BJP is a strong force in Bengal and I am confident that slowly TMC will diminish because their atrocities are at its peak and it will fall in coming days as people are not liking the poor governance of Mamata Banerjee. Only ‘Khela Hobe’ will not eradicate poverty and hunger. It will not ensure development…it will not resolve unemployment issues. We need a good government in Bengal and it is only possible when BJP will form the government in Bengal.
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