Bhabanipur (West Bengal) [India], April 2 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday announced that he will continue to stay in West Bengal for the next fifteen days for campaigning and preparing his party for the two-phase assembly elections scheduled to be held on April 23 and 29.
"I will stay in Bengal for 15 days for the elections. I will have many opportunities to talk with you all. But today I am here for the nomination filing of our four leaders," Amit Shah said while addressing a rally in Bhabanipur, which is Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's constituency.
West Bengal Leader of Opposition (LoP) Suvendhu Adhikari is set to contest against CM Banerjee from the Bhabanipur assembly constituency. Adhikari filed his nomination for the upcoming polls in the presence of HM Amit Shah earlier today.
Apart from Adhikari, BJP's Swapan Das Gupta, Shatrunja Ghosh and Santosh Pathak also filed their nominations from their respective seats.
"Before the elections themselves, in every corner of Bengal, you will find only one voice echoing, saying bye-bye, tata to Mamata Banerjee, change the government, no matter where you go. The whole population of Bengal is fed up with Trinamool Congress' gundagardi, from the lack of safety of women to the changing demography of Bengal. The youth is troubled with unemployment, and Mamata has even made a record in corruption. The voices are saying that change has to come under the leadership of Narendra Modi", Shah said while addressing a public rally.
"Everyone is calling for sealing the border of West Bengal, and removing the infiltrators from here and across the country," he added.
Shah held a road show in the Bhabanipur constituency earlier today.
The rally was attended by party workers and supporters in large numbers, marking a high-profile show of support for the BJP in the key constituency. While speaking at the nomination filing event of senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, Shah highlighted issues he said were affecting the state, including corruption, extortion, youth unemployment, and illegal infiltration.
As the political temperature for the Bengal poll battle continues to increase, both the Trinamool Congress and the BJP have launched relentless attacks against each other.
The TMC has accused the BJP of using the Election Commission of India (ECI) to manipulate voter rolls and unfairly transfer multiple officers. Meanwhile, the BJP has accused the TMC-led state government of facilitating illegal immigration in the state.
Suvendu Adhikari is contesting the two-phase West Bengal assembly polls on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket from Bhabanipur and Nandigram constituencies.
This time, the West Bengal elections will see a face-off between Adhikari and Banerjee for the Bhabanipur seat, while Adhikari will also try to retain Nandigram.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lost the Nandigram seat in the 2021 assembly elections against Adhikari, but later secured victory in the Bhabanipur by-election against Priyanka Tibrewal.
The polling for the 294-member Assembly in West Bengal will take place in two phases on April 23 and April 29, while counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.