BJP will win 23 seats in Bengal: Amit Shah

KOLKATA: Confident of a surprise from Bengal and Odisha, BJP president Amit Shah on Monday said the party would win 23 seats in

West Bengal

.


Shah had recently met Bengal BJP leaders in Delhi and taken feedback from them. At an interactive session at a news channel on Monday, Shah said: “We have emerged as the No. 2 in West Bengal. Wait till the results are counted. We will win in at least 23 parliamentary seats from Bengal.”

Pointing at the anti-incumbency factor, Shah said BJP was on the verge of bringing about a change in both Bengal and Odisha. “You will see the change soon. That is the reason why the Bengal government does not permit our helicopters to land or hold rallies in the state,” he said, claiming that false cases were being slapped against BJP leaders and workers.

He added that BJP had mobilised its forces across the country in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, but “the incidents in Bengal are such that they are dragging focus onto themselves”.

Meanwhile, in Bengal, BJP has started receiving nominations for potential candidates. Leaders on Monday indicated that independent agencies appointed by Shah himself were conducting pre-poll surveys to find out strengths and weaknesses. “During the rallies it was clear to the party’s national leaders that the electorate in Bengal is sharply divided between Trinamool Congress and BJP. Mausam Noor’s exit from Congress has further strengthened that notion,” said Shamik Bhattacharya, member of the election management committee of BJP.

Bengal president Dilip Ghosh, who took a dig at the CM Mamata Banerjee’s statement on suicide attacks in Pulwama said: “She has to decide which side she is going to take — India’s or Pakistan’s. More than 15,000 security personnel were killed in terror strikes in last three decades. She has never raised any question earlier.”