West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee cut short her speech at a rally in her Bhabanipur constituency on Saturday, alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was “deliberately trying to engage in a quarrel” by playing loud music from a nearby public meeting.
“They are trying to deliberately engage in a quarrel. They are shouting in the vicinity so that I can’t hold the meeting. Mothers, sisters and brothers, please forgive me. I will hold a rally in this area tomorrow. I cannot behave in such a shameless manner. This is so insulting and humiliating. I apologise to you before I leave the dais,” Banerjee said.
“Chakraberia Road, Bhabanipur. Mamata Banerjee walked off the stage, citing noise from a BJP loudspeaker. When leaders start losing composure, it often reflects deeper anxiety. Is this the sound of an impending defeat?” BJP’s IT cell head Amit Malviya wrote on X.
Banerjee was holding a public meeting in the evening at the Chakraberia area in the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency.
“This is partiality. Is it possible to hold a public meeting in this way? I have taken official permission. This is wrong. They are doing this to capture Bengal forcefully. If they behave like this, I am sorry, I will have to take legal action,” she said.
“This can’t go on. We had taken official permission to hold the rally. Why would they (BJP) do this? There are certain rules and regulations of election. If they can do this, TMC workers would also install loudspeakers (near BJP rallies). If police come to dismantle the loudspeakers, ask the women to lodge complaints,” she added.
Bhabanipur is considered a TMC bastion and the backyard of Banerjee, who is the sitting Chief Minister and the party’s chairperson. She resides at Kalighat in Bhabanipur and has won the seat three times in a row.
The BJP, meanwhile, has fielded its heavyweight candidate Suvendu Adhikari to challenge Banerjee. Adhikari had defeated Banerjee in 2021 at Nandigram in East Midnapore by 1,956 votes. Later, Banerjee won from Bhabanipur in a by-election to become the Chief Minister for the third time.
“If possible, cast your vote in my favour. But you have to cast your vote to take revenge against this. They are not allowing me to hold a meeting even despite having official permission,” Banerjee told the people before leaving.
Later, a few hundred TMC workers and supporters led by Ashim Kumar Bose, the local civic councillor, staged a sit-in outside the Bhabanipur police station. They also lodged a complaint.
Tension sparked off when TMC workers reached the spot where the BJP rally was going on. A large contingent of police and CAPF was deployed to ease the tension. Both parties raised slogans and counter slogans, and a heated altercation broke out between the workers of the two parties.
