West Bengal: Mamata govt to collapse in 5 months, claims BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has claimed that Mamata Banerjee's government in West Bengal will collapse within the next five months. The BJP is confident about its popularity and support in the region. They believe that dissatisfaction among the people towards the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) party will eventually lead to a downfall of the government. 

BJP MP Shantanu Thakur, while addressing a party programme in his constituency, predicted that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in West Bengal would not survive more than five months.  "I have a hunch that this government will not last beyond five months," he said. 

"The Mamata Banerjee government has outlived its utility. Had the TMC not resorted to widespread rigging in the recently concluded panchayat polls, the BJP would have bagged thousands of more seats.

 "But this is going to be the last election under the supervision of TMC government where all the state machineries including the State Election Commission (SEC) have failed to play a neutral and impartial role," Thakur, who is also the Union Minister of State for Shipping, said. 

According to police sources, a total of 39 individuals have lost their lives due to politically motivated violence arising from the panchayat polls, ever since the date for the elections had been declared on June 8. 

During an organisational meeting to assess the party's performance in the panchayat polls, Sukanta Majumdar, the state president of BJP, stated that a majority of the fatalities were associated with the TMC. He further expressed uncertainty about the future, stating that anything could happen at any time.

He added, "Who knows if there’s a people’s uprising against TMC's misrule and terror. Who knows if TMC MLAs suddenly refuse to follow Mamata Banerjee’s way of functioning. I am not saying it will happen, it may not. But anything is possible in politics."

 About his meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on July 14, Majumdar said, "The Centre will do everything possible to protect the lives of innocent people in West Bengal." Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari had earlier demanded imposition of Article 355 in West Bengal saying central intervention has become imperative in the state which had witnessed violence during panchayat polls.

 He said, "Though a democratically elected government cannot be toppled, if it fails to perform its duty as envisaged in the Constitution, the Centre has to intervene to save it from slipping into lawlessness." 

Reacting to the comments of BJP leaders, TMC Rajya Sabha MP and party spokesperson Santanu Sen said, "All these BJP leaders, including Adhikari, are desperate to raise their ratings in Delhi by issuing threats to a government which came to power for the third time through a huge mandate two years ago and enjoys mass support."

He added, "If out of desperation the BJP tries any misadventure" after the drubbing in panchayat polls, the people of state will thwart it. Sen said BJP leaders like Adhikari and Ghosh had made similar predictions about the collapse of TMC government in December and January and "even spelt out specific dates," but nothing happened.

TMC state general secretary and spokesperson Kunal Ghosh dismissed the claims made by BJP leaders, stating that they were merely attempting to boost the morale of their supporters. Ghosh argued that the BJP leaders were well aware of the absurdity of their claims, and that they were making these statements in response to feeling demoralized after the panchayat poll results.

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