BJP will easily win over 200 seats in West Bengal, claims Amit Shah
Thanking the people of both the states for turning up in large numbers, he said more than 84 per cent turnout in West Bengal and over 79 per cent in Assam shows that there is huge enthusiasm among the public.
Union home minister Amit Shah claimed on Sunday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will a majority of seats in Assam and West Bengal, where voting for the first phase of elections for 47 and 30 assembly constituencies was held on Saturday. Shah also said that the BJP will easily win more than 200 seats in the West Bengal assembly and based his claim on 'clear indicators' and feedback received from the ground after the first phase of polling was conducted a day before.
Watch | How many seats is BJP winning in 1st phase in Bengal, Assam? Amit Shah predicts
"In the first phase, the BJP is winning more than 26 out of 30 seats in Bengal. The margin of seats is also increasing. We have also got clear indications that the party will win more than 37 seats out of 47 seats in Assam," he claimed.
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"I believe that after winning 26 seats in the first phase in Bengal, it will be very easy for us to win over 200 seats overall. The party workers and I have full faith in this," he added.
Thanking the people of both the states for turning up in large numbers, he said more than 84 per cent turnout in West Bengal and over 79 per cent in Assam shows that there is huge enthusiasm among the public.
"The development that has taken place in Assam under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the way our government has ensured unprecedented development is getting huge public support. The concept of 'double engine government' has been understood by the people of Assam by the conduct of the BJP," he said.
In West Bengal, however, there has been an atmosphere of utter despair, he added. "After 27 years of communist rule, the people of Bengal hoped that Didi (Mamata Banerjee) would bring about a new beginning. But only the sign and name of the party were changed, not the situation of Bengal,” the senior BJP leader said.
He also congratulated the Election Commission of India (ECI) for conducting the first phase of polling peacefully and credited them for bringing about a positive change as both Assam and Bengal are often in the news for violence during elections. The voting process in Bengal was completed without any deaths, bombings, and re-voting after many years, he said.
"Assam was known for electoral violence a few years ago and Bengal too. This time the polling has been peaceful in both places and not a single death was reported due to poll-related violence. These are auspicious signs for both the states," he said.
The seven remaining phases will be held between April 1 and April 29 in West Bengal. Polling for the next two phases in Assam will be held on April 1 and April 6. Votes will be counted on May 2.
