Suvendu Adhikari or Samik Bhattacharya, who will be West Bengal CM if BJP wins? Amit Shah answers
A journalist asked Shah who would be the BJP's CM face. Another added that it would be one of the two BJP leaders sitting with Shah when the manifesto was released.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah assured on Friday that a person from West Bengal and a Bengali would become the chief minister if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) comes to power in the state.
Shah was responding to questions after releasing the saffron party's manifesto for the upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal.
“I can assure people that a person from Bengal and a Bengali will be the chief minister of the state,” Shah said in response to a question in Kolkata.
A journalist asked Shah who would be the BJP's CM face. Another added that it would be one of the two BJP leaders sitting with Shah when the manifesto was released. The two leaders with Shah were Samik Bhattacharya, the BJP's state president, and Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in the West Bengal assembly.
“We are not a party which believes in dynastic politics. Nephew will become CM after Didi,” Shah said in an apparent attack on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee.
West Bengal is going to the polls in two phases – 23 and 29 April. The results will be declared on 4 May. The election is perceived as a bipolar contest between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Earlier, Amit Shah released the party's manifesto promising a hardline stand on infiltration, ₹3,000 monthly assistance for every woman and unemployed youth and setting up the Seventh Pay Commission for state employees within 45 days of assuming power in West Bengal following the Assembly polls.
Unveiling its 'Sankalp Patra' for the West Bengal Assembly poll, Union Home Minister Amit Shah described the document as a roadmap for creating a 'Sonar Bangla'.
"The BJP Sankalp Patra will guide farmers, youth and women, giving them a new direction. It will offer renewed hope to every citizen who takes pride in Bengal's culture and will serve as a roadmap for the creation of Sonar Bangla," Shah said.
Seeking to make infiltration and border security a central election issue, Shah said a BJP government in the state would adopt a policy of "detect, delete and deport" against infiltrators.
"Our BJP government in Bengal will move with zero tolerance towards infiltration in the state," he said.
The BJP also sought to sharpen its campaign around the border issue, promising to secure the state's frontiers and put an end to cattle smuggling.
The BJP also promised 33% reservation for women in all government jobs, including in the police force.
What happened in the 2021 Assembly elections?
The 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections were held in eight phases between 27 March and 29 April to elect all 294 members of the Legislative Assembly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The incumbent Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee won the election by a landslide, despite opinion polls generally predicting a close race against the BJP, which became the official opposition with 77 seats.
For the first time in the history of Bengal, no members from the Congress and the Communist Party were elected.
About the Author
Gulam Jeelani is Political Desk Editor at LiveMint with over 16 years of experience covering national and international politics. Based in New Delhi, Jeelani delivers impactful political narratives through breaking stories, in-depth interviews, and analytical pieces at LiveMint since February 2024. The expertise in video production fuels his current responsibilities, which include curating content and conducting video interviews for an expanding digital audience.<br><br> Jeelani also travels during elections and key political events and has covered assembly elections in key states apart from national elections. He has previously worked with The Pioneer, Network18, India Today, News9Plus and Hindustan Times.<br><br> Jeelani’s tenure at LiveMint and previous experience at print and digital newsrooms have honed his skills in creating compelling text and video stories, explainers, and analysis that resonate with a diverse viewership.<br><br> Before moving to New Delhi in 2015, Jeelani was based in Uttar Pradesh, where he worked for five years as a reporter. In 2018, Jeelani was one of the two Indian journalists selected for the Alfred Friendly Fellowship in the US. There, he attended training workshops on reporting and data journalism, and he was attached to the Minneapolis Star Tribune in Minnesota, where he worked as a reporter.<br><br> Jeelani is a Bachelor's in Chemistry and holds a Masters Degree in journalism and mass communication from Aligarh Muslim University. Outside work, he enjoys poetry, cricket and movies.
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