Team News Riveting
Kolkata, April 19
The fresh campaign launched by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other opposition parties to stop the election campaign could be an indicator that BJP had taken a comfortable lead in the state’s assembly elections.
Political pundits in West Bengal see the move as a new bet of Mamata Banerjee, who is still wheel-chair bound as fracture on her leg could not be healed even as over a month had passed. The Trinamool Congress Chief, who is facing a tough challenge from the BJP, moved around in wheel-chair throughout the campaign without any hurdle.
Now, she wants the election rallies to be stopped following a surge in COVID-19 cases across the country. “I won’t hold big campaign rallies in Kolkata, except one on the last day of campaigning i.e. on April 26,” said Banerjee.
The announcement of the West Bengal Chief Minister also showed the seriousness. Will Corona pandemic be over by April 26? If Banerjee thought election rallies would surge the cases, she should have not scheduled the rally on the last day of campaign.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had also announced not to hold rallies in West Bengal despite having campaigned for long in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Congress leader covered every length and breath of Kerala as the party saw some electoral gain in the state. The state had also seen a new surge in the cases but the leaders were least bothered to repent.
Then why West Bengal? The political pundits said the new strategy would definitely send a wrong signal for Mamata Banerjee and Congress. For, it would indicate that both had lost the battle to the BJP and had literally surrendered. “If it was not the case, why should Mamata Banerjee hold a rally on the last day,” opined one of the observers. The possibility of Congress’ major electoral gain in the state had been ruled out by observers and hence the decision to stop campaign did not add much significance.
Even the Left sympathisers had plunged into action demanding postponing the election when it had entered the final round. Literally, BJP has reason to smile!
