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BJP takes a swipe at TMC for fielding ‘outsider’ Shatrughan Sinha in Bengal by-poll
Popularly called ‘Bihari Babu’ across India because he hails from Bihar, Sinha’s name was announced on Sunday by the Bengal chief minister for the Asansol seat that former Union minister Babul Supriyo vacated after joining her party in September last year.
Months after dubbing Hindi-speaking Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders as “outsiders” in Bengal, Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee is drawing flak from the saffron camp for fielding former Union minister and veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha for the April 12 by-poll at the Asansol Lok Sabha seat in West Burdwan district.
Popularly called ‘Bihari Babu’ across India because he hails from Bihar, Sinha’s name was announced on Sunday by the Bengal chief minister for the Asansol seat that former Union minister Babul Supriyo vacated after joining her party in September last year. Supriyo will contest south Kolkata’s Ballygunge assembly seat that fell vacant following the death of minister Subrata Mukherjee in November.
Seventy-six-year-old Sinha was a member of both Houses of Parliament. He was also a minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government.
Accusing Banerjee of shifting her stand for political convenience, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar and leader of the opposition in the state assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, have started a campaign saying the chief minister called BJP leaders from other states “bohiragato” (outsiders) when they came to campaign for the assembly polls last year.
“She did not spare even Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Union minister Amit Shah, calling them outsiders in Bengal. How can a man from Bihar suddenly becomes her ideal candidate for a Lok Sabha seat?” said Majumdar.
“The TMC seems to have run out of leaders. Banerjee is fielding former BJP ministers because she has no choice,” Majumdar quipped.
Sinha did not meet the media. However, Supriyo, who addressed a press conference at the TMC office in Kolkata on Monday evening, defended his candidature as well as that of Sinha’s saying the decision was taken by the chief minister.
“I talked to Sinha over the phone for more than an hour. He is enthusiastic about the election. He asked where could he find accommodation in Asansol for his people,” Supriyo, a popular Hindi playback singer, said. He had won the Asansol seat twice since 2014.
“I cannot understand what this fuss is all about. Sinha is popular everywhere. He will get people’s support if fielded in Kashmir or even a city in America. I, too, have followers everywhere. Both of us served as Union ministers but we severed ties with the BJP. Now, we represent Mamata Banerjee and her party,” said Supriyo.
Polls in Asansol and Ballygunge will be held on April 12. The results will be announced on April 16.
“Happy to announce on behalf of the All India Trinamool Congress that Sri Shatrughan Sinha, former Union Minister and famed actor, will be our candidate in Lok Sabha by-election from Asansol,” Banerjee tweeted on Sunday afternoon.
TMC leaders said Sinha was chosen for the Asansol seat because a sizeable chunk of the local voters comprise Hindi-speaking people and migrants from Bihar.
As a disgruntled BJP leader, Sinha took part in meetings and rallies that Banerjee held with heads of regional parties before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls but has not yet formally joined the TMC.
