In what could be termed a show of solidarity days after the BJP registered a huge win in the West Bengal assembly polls, Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav reached Kolkata on Thursday to meet Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee at her Kalighat residence, where he told her “You have not lost, you fought very well,” according to a press release and videos of his visit.
TMC’s Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee was also present at the meeting.
Yadav, one of the first INDIA alliance members to meet Mamata Banerjee after the poll results, said afterwards: “I have just met Didi. We remember the time when Didi became the fairly elected chief minister here. Today, all of us will have to stand together against the malpractice that took place in the elections. When the elections were conducted honestly by the Election Commission, she won. But this time, the kind of multi-layered mafia-like activities that took place during the elections, nobody could have imagined that the BJP, the Election Commission, their associates, and underground networks would conduct elections in this manner.”
“Until now, we used to hear that what West Bengal does today, the rest of the country follows tomorrow. But what the BJP did in Uttar Pradesh through dishonesty was just a trial for them. Learning from that, they looted the entire election,” Yadav added.
The SP leader said he hoped that the people of the country will wake up after what happened in Bengal.
“Can you imagine that over three lakh central forces were deployed in Bengal and selective officers were posted? I have also heard that the officers were lured with promises that if they help them win the elections, they will be paid well… and you will see that all the high-ranking officers overseeing the elections from here will get a significant post later,” he said.
Earlier, while speaking to the media at Kolkata Airport, Yadav stated that the BJP has decimated democracy in Bengal.
“The BJP has inflicted severe damage upon democratic values. Mamata Didi represents half of the population; that is precisely why she remains a thorn in the BJP’s side. They simply cannot tolerate seeing women rise to prominence. The BJP is inherently anti-women; there is no respect for women within the party’s ranks. In Rajasthan, the BJP prevented a former chief minister from assuming the top post simply because she was a woman. In Delhi, they allowed only for a partial or incomplete chief ministership,” he added.
Yadav asserted that fair and impartial elections are no longer taking place in the country.
“The Election Commission itself lacks impartiality. The truth regarding the events that unfolded during the Bengal elections can no longer be concealed. In Bengal, the BJP exerted immense pressure on voters,” he alleged, urging everyone to unite in the collective effort to save democracy and the Constitution.
He claimed that during the by-elections in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP utilised the police machinery to specifically identify and prevent Samajwadi Party supporters from casting their votes.
Referring to the post-poll violence in West Bengal, Yadav remarked that the BJP habitually engages in actions designed to foment anarchy.
He said that the BJP government had previously given assurances that multiple companies of forces would be deployed to maintain law and order.
“Where, ultimately, are these forces? Have they been granted 15 days of leave?” he asked.
He further stated that during the elections, the Election Commission and the Union home minister are responsible for ensuring public safety.
The Kannauj MP was welcomed at Kolkata airport by TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien.
Kiranmoy Nanda conspicuous by his absence
Samajwadi Party national vice-president Kiranmoy Nanda couldn’t be spotted with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav during his Kolkata visit on Thursday. Although many SP leaders accompanied Yadav, Nanda remained absent, raising questions within the party ranks. On May 4, Nanda blamed corruption and atrocities as the main reason for TMC’s loss in West Bengal elections, which contradicted the party line toed by Yadav.
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