BJP won’t cross 200-seat mark: Mamata

KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has claimed that the BJP is unlikely to touch the 200-seat mark in the parliamentary polls and that the India bloc will easily cross the 300-seat threshold.

“INDIA bloc will win at least 315 seats while the BJP will get a maximum 195 seats,” she said at a rally at Bongaon, a town in North 24 Parganas, about 78 km from Kolkata.

At the end of phase 4 of the polls, Banerjee predicted that PM Modi would not return to power. “I will ensure that the INDIA bloc comes to power this time. There will be no Modi in Delhi. Based on the numbers I received till yesterday; they will get around 190-195 seats. INDIA bloc will get 315 seats,” she said.

Mamata also took a jibe at the BJP, saying the saffron party should not brag about winning 400 seats anymore. “Modi is not coming to power this time. The polling so far has been good. That is why the leaders of the ruling party at the Centre are scared. They should not brag about 400 seats anymore,” she said.

Attacking Modi on the Sandeshkhali issue, Mamata said, “The BJP and the PM are spreading falsehood on the issue. The ‘guarantee babu’ (swipe at Modi’s guarantee) is maligning West Bengal. Now, when the truth is emerging (referring to purported videos), they are asking TV channels not to show those. They are trying to hide the truth. The BJP hatched a conspiracy to tarnish the image of women of the state.”

Modi, in election rallies on Sunday, had alleged that the TMC was “attempting to conceal its past misdeeds” in Sandeshkhali, where party leaders have been accused of sexual assault and land-grabbing.

Multiple purported videos recently surfaced on social media that claimed that a local BJP leader made several women of Sandeshkhali sign blank papers, which were later filled up as complaints of sexual assault against TMC leaders, and that women were paid to participate in protests.

Mamata also reiterated her opposition to the implementation of CAA and NRC in the state. “They are interfering in everything, be it our religious practices or food habits. They want to decide what we should eat and what we shouldn’t. This is unacceptable,” she said.

‘Will love to cook for PM’

Mamata Banerjee’s offer to “cook food” for PM Narendra Modi elicited mixed responses from political parties, with the BJP terming it a “political agenda” and the CPM dubbing it as an “understanding” between the TMC and the BJP. Taking a jibe at Modi for his allegation that RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav last month had fish during a Hindu festival, Banerjee said she was ready to “cook something for him (Modi)”, though she was not sure if he would eat what she cooked. “People have praised my cooking. But will Modi ji accept my food? Will he trust me?” she said.