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Bengal minister’s ‘Suvendu’ jibe at BJP as party faces protests over tickets
Firhad Hakim, a leader of the ruling TMC, took a jibe at protests by a section of Bengal BJP workers over ticket allotment for the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections.
West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim on Thursday described protests by a section of Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) state unit workers against their leadership over ticket allotment for the upcoming assembly elections in the state as a clash between the ‘Suvendu BJP and the old BJP.’
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Hakim, a leader of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) was talking about his former TMC colleague, Suvendu Adhikari, who joined the BJP last December, and will now face West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee from the Nandigram assembly constituency.
“They (BJP) are unable to tackle their own workers, so, there is a clash between the old BJP and the new BJP. Suvendu BJP vs the old BJP. They’re blaming TMC as they don’t have control over their own workers. They’re communalising politics,” Hakim was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Over the last few days, workers of the BJP’s West Bengal unit have staged protests, some of which turned violent, over candidate selection for the state polls. Protests broke out on Sunday, soon after the party declared names of 63 candidates for the third and fourth phases of the eight-phased elections. One of the major points of discontent among the irate workers was tickets being allotted to several former TMC leaders, actors and even Members of Parliament (MP). Top leadership of the BJP, including Union home minister Amit Shah and national president JP Nadda, had to chair meetings to discuss the crisis.
The TMC has taken a jibe at the BJP, remarking that the party has been forced to ‘borrow’ candidates from other parties, as it lacked leaders in the eastern state. “The BJP, which sidelined several of its senior leaders, is now allotting tickets to octogenarian leaders who left the TMC and joined the BJP. Actually, they don’t have enough faces to project,” said Kunal Ghosh, spokesperson of the Banerjee-headed party.
West Bengal will vote between March 27 and April 29. Counting of votes and declaration of results for all 294 assembly constituencies will take place on May 2.
