BJP will win 22 plus Lok Sabha seats in Bengal: Amit Shah
Purulia, June 28: Claiming his party has made massive inroads in West Bengal over the past four years, BJP President Amit Shah on Thursday said the saffron outfit would become the "number one" political force in the state by winning more than 22 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 general elections.
Accusing the state's Mamata Banerjee government of resorting to massive violence and atrocities against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers, he said the people would oust the Trinamool Congress regime from power in the near future.
"The BJP was in fourth position in West Bengal in the 2014 elections and now it has successfully emerged as the second largest party. In the 2019 elections, the BJP will become the number one party in Bengal by winning more than 22 Lok Sabha seats.
"When we counted these 22 seats last night, I deliberately asked them to leave out Purulia from that list as I wanted to hear it from you people. So tell me who will win the Lok Sabha seat here? Should we count Purulia as the 23rd seat BJP will win in Bengal?" Shah asked at a public meeting here amid massive cheers from the crowd.
Referring to the recent rural polls in the state, the BJP chief said more than 20 of their activists were killed during the election process, and the party will not let the bloodshed of its workers go in vain.
"Twenty BJP activists were murdered in Bengal and youth activists were specially targeted... 1,341 activists have gone missing and a total of 65 people were killed during the Bengal rural polls.
"If the Mamata Banerjee government thinks that it would be able to retain power in Bengal through violence and atrocities, I challenge them... the bloodshed of our activists will not go in vain. Her government will not be able to stay in power for long," Shah said.
He said even though the Panchayat election did not hold any threat to Banerjee's chair or to her party, the state government unethically stopped a large number of BJP activists from filing nominations and casting votes and even resorted to murdering its workers after the poll results.
"I can take responsibility to say that nearly two crore people in the state were not allowed to vote in the Panchayat polls. In spite of this, the BJP came out victorious in more than 70,000 Gram Panchayat seats in Bengal. This shows who will form the next government here," shah added.
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Blow for India as Shubman Gill fractures left thumb, all but out of Perth Test
New Delhi/Perth, Nov 16: India were dealt a telling blow on Saturday after star top-order batter Shubman Gill sustained a left thumb fracture which is likely to rule him out of the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Optus Stadium in Perth, starting November 22.
Gill, one of the young heroes of India's last Border-Gavaskar Trophy triumph, is a batting mainstay and in case skipper Rohit Sharma opts out of the first Test, India's top-order could look very thin.
Gill got hurt while fielding on the second day of the intra-squad match simulation. He was seen in considerable pain and immediately left the field for further scans.
According to a BCCI source privy to the development, Gill has indeed fractured his left thumb and with less than a week left for the Test to start, it will be near impossible for the stylish right-hander to get fit in time for the opening match.
A thumb fracture generally takes around 14 days to heal after which one is expected to start his regular net sessions. Since the second Test in Adelaide starts from December 6, there remains a possibility that he will get fit in time for that match.
Gill's absence could be massive for the national team as he is not only a stable number three batter but in case of Rohit's absence, he could be considered for opening the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal.
The other man in contention, Lokesh Rahul, has a bruised elbow after getting hit by a Prasidh Krishna short ball on the opening day of the intra-squad match and was forced to leave the field.
Rahul's bruised area needed icing and he didn't take the field on the second day of the match simulation on Saturday although it is being seen more as a precautionary measure.
In case Gill is absent, Abhimanyu Easwaran could be in line for his Test debut as India do not have too many options left.
However, if skipper Rohit, who was blessed with a baby boy, decides to join forces with three days of training, then it would be a different story.
Mohammed Shami, who has bowled more than 43.2 overs, took seven wickets and scored 37 runs in Ranji Trophy, is certainly going to join the team before the second Test.
The last day of the match simulation will happen at the WACA on Sunday after which India A squad, barring reserve players, will be back to India and join their respective state teams for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
The main squad will then move to Optus Stadium in Perth where they will have three net sessions from Tuesday to Thursday before going into the Test starting Friday.
