In West Bengal, voting for 152 seats is to be held on April 23 under the first phase of elections, and all preparations for it have been completed. In this phase, around 36 million voters from 16 districts will cast their votes at around 44,000 polling stations. The special thing is that this time the elections are being held in only two phases, whereas in 2021 voting was held in eight phases and in 2016 in six phases.
Challenge for Mamata: Will she be able to save her stronghold in Bengal?
In the first phase, a direct contest is expected between the ruling All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on about 80 seats; However, some seats may also see competition between several parties. The Election Commission has made tight security arrangements, deployed more than 2,400 companies of central forces and declared thousands of polling stations “sensitive”.
Will Stalin be able to make a comeback?
Meanwhile, in Tamil Nadu, voting for all 234 assembly seats will be held in a single phase with over 57.3 million voters deciding the fate of over 4,000 candidates. The main contest here is between Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). State Chief Minister M.K. Stalin is trying to remain in power, while Edappadi K. Palaniswami-led AIADMK is trying to return to power. To make the election process peaceful and smooth, security forces have been deployed extensively across the state, and all necessary arrangements have been made.
political rhetoric
Amid the Bengal elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday held a road show in support of BJP candidate Roopa Ganguly in Sonarpur South assembly constituency, and appealed to the public to remove Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from power. Shah was seen greeting supporters standing on top of a saffron-coloured vehicle, while a huge crowd gathered on both sides of the road and people raised slogans of “Bharat Mata ki Jai”. He said Mamata Banerjee, who came to power on the slogan of ‘Maa, Mati, Manush’ (Mother, Earth, People), has left the state at the mercy of “goons”, and now her only aim is to make her nephew Abhishek Banerjee the chief minister. Alleging the dominance of “syndicate raj” and industrial stagnation, Shah asserted that this situation would end the moment BJP comes to power.
Meanwhile, hitting back from Trinamool Congress, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee accused Amit Shah of insulting Mamata Banerjee. She argued that the way Shah addressed her as “A Didi” (Hey Didi) during the election campaign reflected the BJP’s mentality towards women. Abhishek Banerjee further said that the public will give its verdict on these comments after the election results are declared on May 4.