Shiv Sena targets Modi for attacking opposition's show of unity
Mumbai, Jan 21 : Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Shiv Sena Monday wondered why the coming together of 22 opposition parties gave him "shivers" and asked him not to live in an illusion that his government is "immortal".
Referring to the opposition's show of unity at a rally organised by TMC chief Mamata Banerjee on Saturday, the Sena, in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamna', said the West Bengal chief minister was taking the Modi-Shah combine head-on.
"Most of the leaders who attended the rally, including Banerjee, were once allies of the BJP under Atal Bihari Vajpayee's leadership and there is no need to ridicule them. Modi's government is not an enemy of the country but he should not live in an illusion that his government is 'amar' (immortal)," the publication said.
Distancing itself from the coming together of several regional parties on one platform, the Sena, an ally of the BJP at the Centre and in Maharashtra, however, defended their right to criticise the party in power.
Banerjee had invited Uddhav Thackeray to the rally, but the Shiv Sena was the first to sound the poll bugle from its "own field" Maharashtra, it said.
"All those present on Banerjee's platform were secularists. The Sena is not pseudo-secularist. Our ideology is 'hindutva' and we are firm on our stand on the issues of Ram temple and uniform civil code. The Kolkata rally could not have digested Shiv Sena's stand," the editorial said.
It said recently the prime minister gave a speech while boarding a tank (at L&T's gun-making facility in Gujarat). "Why did he (then) get shivers from the coming together of 22 opposition parties," it wondered.
It said the way the BJP has the right to stay in power by contesting polls, the opposition also has the right to expose the government and defeat it.
NDA partners like Ram Vilas Paswan, Nitish Kumar and Ramdas Athawale are against the construction of Ram temple and implementation of the uniform civil code, but they are happily sharing power with the BJP and are called "good" and "honest", it said in remarks laced with sarcasm.
Many faces in the current opposition, including Mamata Banerjee, Chandrababu Naidu, DMK, Farooq Abdullah, Sharad Yadav, Arun Shourie, Yashwant Sinha and Gegong Apang, have been in an out of the BJP-led coalition, it noted.
"Even (BSP chief) Mayawati had once shared power with the BJP. None of them were then anti-nationals, but today they are referred so," the Sena said.
The prime minister should tolerate the opposition's questions on his governance, it added.
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2nd phase of Bengal poll: 39.97 per cent polling till 11 am amid sporadic violence
Kolkata (PTI): Nearly 40 per cent of the 3.21 crore electors voted till 11 am of the second phase of polling in West Bengal amid sporadic violence, while tension gripped the Bhabanipur seat briefly as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari took swipes at one another in the same booth area.
Voters queued up from 7 am outside booths in Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas and Purba Bardhaman districts, which form Bengal's electoral and political core.
Of the total electorate eligible to vote in this phase, 1.57 crore are women, and 792 are third-gender.
Till 11 am, West Bengal recorded 39.97 per cent polling with Purba Bardhaman registering the highest turnout at 44.50 per cent, followed by Hooghly at 43.12 per cent and Nadia at 40.34 per cent.
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Howrah recorded 39.45 per cent polling, while North 24 Parganas registered 38.43 per cent. Kolkata North and Kolkata South recorded 38.39 per cent and 36.78 per cent turnout, respectively.
South 24 Parganas, a politically crucial district witnessing several high-profile contests, recorded 37.9 per cent voting.
The first phase of polls in 152 Assembly seats of West Bengal on April 23 also recorded more than 41 per cent polling till 11 am.
"Polling is underway peacefully, barring some minor incidents in certain areas. We have sought reports from the officials concerned," a poll panel official said.
The early-morning convergence of Banerjee and Adhikari at the same booth area in Chakraberia turned Bhabanipur -- the chief minister's electoral bastion -- into the centrepiece of the day, reinforcing the symbolic weight of their prestige battle seen as a rematch of Nandigram, where the BJP leader had defeated her in 2021.
Banerjee was already seated outside the booth after receiving complaints of alleged intimidation of local TMC leaders when Adhikari arrived there amid heavy deployment of central forces.
Stepping out of his car, Adhikari declared, "I will not allow any hooliganism", while Banerjee accused the BJP of trying to "rig" the election using central forces, police observers and election officials.
"BJP wants to rig this election. Polls in Bengal are usually peaceful. Is there goonda raj here?" Banerjee told reporters, alleging CRPF personnel had visited the homes of TMC leaders late Tuesday night and unleashed terror in the area.
She alleged that election observers were acting at the BJP's behest and claimed TMC workers were being selectively targeted across districts.
Adhikari dismissed the charges as signs of "frustration", claiming Banerjee had realised that "not a single vote" was coming her way.
Banerjee, who usually steps out of her Kalighat residence late in the day to cast her vote at Mitra Institution School, broke convention and hit the ground before 8 am, moving through Chetla, Padmapukur and Chakraberia, underlining the stakes attached to Bhabanipur and the wider battle for south Bengal.
Reports of violence, vandalism and tension surfaced from several districts.
In Nadia district's Chapra, a BJP polling agent was allegedly assaulted inside a booth during a mock poll. The BJP accused TMC supporters of attacking its agent, while the ruling party denied the charge. In Shantipur, a BJP camp office was found vandalised.
In South 24 Pargana's Bhangar, the ISF alleged that its polling agents were prevented from entering booths.
Howrah's Bally constituency saw tension at a booth in Liluah after an EVM malfunction delayed voting, prompting central forces to lathi-charge agitated voters. Two people were arrested in the matter.
Police and RAF personnel were also seen chasing away crowds near a booth in Amdanga following complaints of unlawful gathering by bike-borne supporters.
In Panihati, BJP candidate Ratna Debnath, the mother of the RG Kar victim, faced protests and her car was allegedly stopped by TMC workers, while in Jagaddal, the recovery of a firearm near a polling booth triggered tension before police and central forces restored order.
BJP candidate from Basanti assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas, Bikash Sardar, on Wednesday, alleged that "200-250 TMC goons" attacked his car and assaulted his driver when he was visiting polling booths in the constituency.
The TMC did not immediately respond to the allegations.
Unlike the first phase, where the BJP sought to defend its north Bengal gains, the final round has shifted the battle squarely to the TMC's strongest belt.
In 2021, the ruling party had won 123 of these 142 seats, leaving just 18 for the BJP and one for the ISF. For the BJP, breaching this southern fortress remains critical if it hopes to mount a serious challenge for power in the state.
