Elections in West Bengal are to be held in two phases, and due to this, there is a lot of election rallies and public meetings all over the state. Meanwhile, residents of West Bengal—who have been living in the Bengali Tola area of Varanasi for generations—are also eagerly waiting for the upcoming elections. He says that this time the competition will be very tough. Along with local issues related to Bengal, the issue of infiltrators and names of voters missing from the voter list due to the SIR (State-level Identity Review) process are also expected to play a significant role. In view of this, ABP Live had a special conversation with the people of Bengal, who are currently living in Bengali Tola of Varanasi.
Due to SIR, parties will get different benefits depending on the seats.
Chandranath Mukherjee—who hails from West Bengal and whose family has been living in Varanasi’s Bengali Tola for generations—said during the conversation that this time the electoral fight between the parties will be very intense. He said that after the SIR process, different political parties are sure to benefit—a factor that cannot be ignored. Apart from this, the issue of infiltrators in Bengal is also expected to have a clear impact on the election results.
While commenting on the Bengal elections, Tanushree Mukherjee said: “For us, security is the most important issue. The security arrangements of Uttar Pradesh are an example for other states; the truth is that Bengal should also have similar security arrangements, so that women feel safe – whether they are inside the house or outside – day or night, at any time.”
Voters will cast their votes on issues ranging from unemployment to infrastructure.
In response to the question whether Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) promotes communalism, Shyamal Chakraborty said that the voters of Bengal now have a clear understanding of the situation. He pointed out that even Trinamool Congress (TMC) members have now started raising slogans of “Jai Shri Ram”, a change that reflects the changing circumstances inside the state over time. He stressed that voters will cast their votes based on a variety of issues—ranging from unemployment to infrastructure development. For now, after these conversations with West Bengal voters living in Varanasi, one thing is clear: the voters who travel back to Bengal from other states specifically to cast their vote are in no hurry to make a hasty decision, and are completely confident about the validity of their identity documents.