Kolkata:
It is raining road shows in poll-bound Bengal.
Strictly speaking, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s road show at Bolpur today was seriously a padayatra – pretty distinctive from Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s a week ago. She walked for 4km whilst he rode in an open mini-truck.
Ms Banerjee’s former lieutenant Suvendu Adhikari, who joined BJP 10 days ago attempted to outdo his former boss.
He held not 1 but two road shows – Amit Shah style – at Nandigram and from Titagarh to Khardah just north of Kolkata.
The vitriol amongst the chief minister and BJP’s newest recruit was almost matched.
She mocked Mr Adhikari. “Just because they throw cash and buy a couple of Trinamool MLAs — that too the most rotten ones — do they think they have bought Trinamool Congress?” Ms Banerjee stated. “Let them first get 30 seats then we will see about 294,” she added.
Mr Adhikari directed his wrath mostly at Trinamool MP Abhishek Banerjee who is Mamata Banerjee’s nephew.
“Bhaipo (nephew) is angry with me. He says I can’t even make the ‘lotus’ bloom in my own house, how will I make it bloom across Bengal,” Mr Adhikari stated.
Mocking Abhishek Banerjee as ‘Babu Shona’ Mr Adhikari added, “Wait till Ram Navami, wait till Basanti Puja, not only will the lotus bloom in my house, we will enter your house at Harish Chatterjee Street and Harish Mukherjee Street and make the lotus bloom.”
Mr Banerjee lives on Harish Mukherjee Street in south Kolkata, not far from exactly where he grew up at the household of Mamata Banerjee on Harish Chatterjee Street. Ram Navami is a festival in April that the BJP has produced a point of celebrating in Bengal, Basanti Puja is Saraswati Puja commonly held in February.
The reference to the lotus not blooming at Mr Adhikari’s household was a barb by Abhishek Banerjee at the new BJP leader whose father Sisir and brother Dibyendu are each Trinamool MPs. Yet yet another brother Soumendu Adhikari was removed as Kanthi municipal chairman late this evening. Kanthi is the district headquarter town of East Midnapore, a stronghold of Suvendu Adhikari.
Mr Adhikari supporters have claimed they have been attacked when on their way to join his road show at Nandigram today. Police referred to as it a fight amongst locals and a group of people today, brought rapidly below manage. BJP leaders claimed numerous injured workers have been rushed to the hospital.
Without naming her, Mr Adhikari mocked Mamata Banerjee this afternoon for cancelling her meeting at Nandigram on January 7. The Trinamool has stated the chief organiser of the rally, senior MLA Akhil Giri had contracted coronavirus and thus Ms Banerjee had place off her stop by. Mr Adhikari recommended she did so as he was holding are rally at Nandigram the pretty subsequent day and his would be larger.
“Whenever the cancelled rally is held, I will hold a rally at the same place the very next day,” he stated.
Mr Adhikari’s second road show was from Titagarh to Khardah. It started from the spot exactly where BJP youth leader Manish Shukla had been shot dead on October 4.
Union Minister of state Babul Supriyo and BJP MPs Arjun Singh and Soumitra Khan shared the open Jeep today with Suvendu Adhikari as effectively as Mukul Roy’s son Subhrangshu amongst other people.