Abhishek Banerjee Challenges BJP to Field Central Agency Directors in Lok Sabha Polls

Trinamul national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday challenged the BJP to field the directors of the CBI, ED, NIA and income tax department from Diamond Harbour, Jhargram, Asansol and Birbhum — the four seats for which the party has not yet announced its nominees for the Lok Sabha polls.

(Late in the evening, the BJP announced Debasish Dhar and Pranat Tudu as the candidates for the Birbhum and Jhargram constituencies, respectively.)

“Instead of fighting from behind a haze of clouds, let there be a direct fight in this election,” said Abhishek, addressing over 20,000 people at Kulpi, a South 24-Parganas area that is part of Mathurapur Lok Sabha constituency, adjacent to his Diamond Harbour constituency.

“The BJP has not been able to find a candidate for Diamond Harbour. Let them field the ED or the CBI director to contest the election. There are four vacant Lok Sabha constituencies where the BJP has not fielded its candidates. I suggest they deploy the directors of income tax, CBI, NIA and ED from these four districts to contest the elections,” Abhishek said in his 32-minute speech.

Abhishek, the No. 2 in Trinamul, focussed on the alleged misuse of central agencies by the Narendra Modi government in the run-up to the polls.

The ruling party in Bengal — which has been at the receiving end of raids, summons and arrests by central agencies — has made it clear that the “misuse of central agencies by the BJP” would be a major poll plank apart from the allegation that the Centre has been depriving Bengal by withholding its legitimate dues.

On Friday, the Trinamul had complained to the Election Commission about the Modi government utilizing investigating agencies to pursue the party and disrupt its poll campaign.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has struck out at the BJP over the detention of her Delhi counterpart, Arvind Kejriwal. Though she will not be at the INDIA bloc’s joint rally in Delhi against Kejriwal’s arrest, she is expected to come down severely on the central agencies during her first poll campaign meeting at Krishnanagar on Sunday.

Abhishek juxtaposed the attack on the central agencies with the delay in the BJP’s nomination of candidates for four districts, a number reduced to two later in the day.

His remarks on the delay in selecting nominees for the four districts — two of which (Jhargram and Asansol) were won by the BJP in 2029 — seemed to strike a sensitive nerve among a section of Hindutva leaders.

A source in the BJP said the party’s prime challenge was Diamond Harbour and that it was yet to find a “appropriate” candidate to field against Abhishek, who has set himself the target of a four-lakh-plus margin this time.

“We also think that the party should have fielded candidates in those seats, including Diamond Harbour, much earlier as our first list came out on March 2. However, there are several issues related to the nomination of candidates for those seats. It is up to the Delhi authorities to choose the candidates,” a state BJP leader said.

Abhishek went after the BJP also on the issue of welfare initiatives.

“BJP leaders are now claiming that if they come to power, they will give Rs 3,000 a month as part of the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme. The BJP is in control in 17 states.... I challenge them that if they can implement this in even one state, and grant half the amount --- Rs 1,500 a month --- I will abandon politics,” the Trinamul leader said.

The catalyst behind the comment on Lakshmir Bhandar was the recent spate of promises by BJP leaders, such as Suvendu Adhikari and Sukanta Majumdar, that they would enhance the bargain for women under the scheme if they came to power in Bengal.

Throwing another challenge to the BJP, Abhishek said he would withdraw the nomination of all the 42 Trinamul candidates in Bengal if the BJP ensured free LPG cylinders for each household for the next five years.

“You don’t have to give Lakshmir Bhandar as Mamata Banerjee is already giving it.... If the central government issues a notification and promises that they will grant culinary gas cylinders, which cost over Rs 1,000 (each), free of cost for the next five years, I will take back candidates from all the 42 constituencies,” he said.