Bengal: TMC's Abhishek Banerjee takes dig at BJP's performance in Lok Sabha polls, says 'crushed arrogance and pride into dust'

Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee recently took a potshot at BJP's poor performance in Lok Sabha Elections 2024. Describing it as an act of "protest, resistance, and revenge," he said that the results have "crushed BJP's arrogance and pride into dust." Banerjee also accused the BJP of "abusing central agencies, corrupting the judiciary, gagging the media, and manipulating the Election Commission to cling to power."

In a Facebook post on Friday night, after meeting with party workers and the public in his Diamond Harbour constituency, Abhishek Banerjee, the TMC national general secretary, celebrated his re-election by a record margin of over 7 lakh votes. He declared that the 2024 Lok Sabha polls will be remembered in history as "jonogoner gorjon" (the people's roar).

"The 'jonogoner gorjon' (people's roar) will be etched in golden letters in the history. This Lok Sabha election was one of 'protibaad, protirodh and protishodh' (protest, resistance and revenge). BJP's arrogance, pride, and backbone have been crushed into dust," he said.

Despite the BJP-led NDA returning to power for a third consecutive term, the party fell short of securing a majority on its own, necessitating support from key allies like the Telugu Desam Party and JD(U) to maintain its grip on power. Reflecting on the TMC's impressive performance in West Bengal, where it won 29 out of 42 seats, marking an increase of seven seats compared to the 2019 polls, Abhishek Banerjee, considered the second-in-command within the party, said, "June 4 marked a new dawn for Bengal and the nation" when the Lok Sabha poll results were announced.

"Your support and prayers have bound me in a debt of love, a debt I vow to repay with transformative development," he thanked the people of Diamond Harbour for their immense support.

Banerjee, who has faced multiple interrogations by central agencies over alleged coal and cattle scams, criticised the Narendra Modi government for what he called "abusing central agencies" and undermining democratic rights. He accused the BJP of uprooting the democratic rights of the people, adding to the ongoing political discourse surrounding his interactions with central authorities.

"They abused central agencies, corrupted the judiciary, gagged the media and manipulated the Election Commission to cling to power," he said. "Heartiest greetings and congratulations to the people of the country, the people of Bengal, and above all, my colleagues and co-workers in the Trinamool Congress. You are the backbone of this victory. Joy Bangla!" Banerjee said.

With inputs from PTI