‘Target Lal Qila’: Mamata’s response to BJP’s ‘Target Bangla’ call

Immediately after the saffron triumph in Tripura, BJP president Amit Shah said that his party’s golden era will begin only after it emerges victorious in Bengal, Kerala and Odisha.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday raised a ‘Target Lal Qila’ battle cry to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party’s ‘Target Bangla’ call in the backdrop of the BJP’s victory over the Left in the assembly elections in Tripura last week.

The Bengal chief minister had earlier discussed the possibility of forming a “federal front” with parties such as the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Biju Janata Dal and the Rashtriya Janata Dal. (PTI File)

Hours after ending the 25-year Communist Party of India (Marxist) reign in Tripura on Saturday, BJP president Amit Shah had said that the golden era would begin only after the party emerged victorious in West Bengal, Kerala and Odisha.

“Some are saying that their next target is Bangla (West Bengal). If that is the case, our target will be Delhi’s Lal Qila. So, let’s march to Delhi,” the Trinamool Congress chief said at a public rally in Purulia district.

Banerjee had earlier discussed the possibility of a “federal front” with the Congress, the Samajwadi Party in UP, the Biju Janata Dal in Odisha and the Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar.

She had also shared a dais with Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party. According to a release by the Telangana government, Banerjee spoke to CM K Chandrasekhar Rao on the phone on Sunday, supporting his call for a non-Congress, non-BJP front.

The BJP, however, said it was not worried. “She should try and hold on to Kolkata. Let her conduct a free-and-fair election in the impending panchayat polls first,” said Dilip Ghosh, the BJP’s state president.