TMC Supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was engaged in a squeaker fight in Bengal's Nandigram, against BJP's Suvendu Adhikari. Shaking off a strong challenge from BJP, Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress was all set to retain power in West Bengal. But a sudden twist turned the tables.
Mamata Banerjee lost the election against her former-aide-turned BJP rival Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram. Trinamool Congress writes to Chief Electoral office, West Bengal for immediate re-counting of votes in Nandigram AC 210 and postal ballots.
Mamata vs Adhikari: A fierce battle
After joining BJP, Suvendu Adhikari had vowed to defeat Mamata Banerjee from Nandigram by more than 50,000 votes, placing his career in politics on the bet.
During a rally in south Kolkata Adhikari had said "Write this down and mention the date and time. I will leave politics if I cannot defeat her (Mamata Banerjee) by a half lakh (50,000) votes." He had also asked the TMC supremo to prepare a letterhead with 'former chief minister' written on it.
On the other hand, Mamata Banerjee has called Suvendu Adhikari a 'traitor' and said that she was wrong to have 'blindly' supported the Adhikari family once. Dubbing the turncoat leader as 'Mir Jafar' (a name almost synonymous with 'traitor' in Bengal's long political history), Mamata Banerjee said that she won't be leaving even one inch of soil to Adhikari or any of the opposition leaders.
Wishes pour in for Mamata
Over the last few hours, Political leaders across party lines have congratulated Banerjee and her team.
"Congratulations @MamataOfficial didi on TMC being elected again in the Assembly election. Good wishes for your next tenure," tweeted Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
"Congratulations @MamataOfficial didi for landslide victory. What a fight! Congratulations to the people of WB," AAP chief Kejriwal said in a tweet.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated Mamata Banerjee for her party's sweeping win in the West Bengal Assembly election.
In a tweet, Rajnath Singh wrote: "Congratulations to the Chief Minister of West Bengal, @MamataOfficial Didi on her party's victory in West Bengal assembly elections. My best wishes to her for her next tenure."
BJP's National General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya has credited Mamata Banerjee for the TMC's astounding performance in Bengal elections, and said his party would introspect the poll results. Vijayvargiya also said that he has received a call from Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who enquired about the party's poor show.
