There was no crowd of supporters, staff or leaders. State President Samik Bhattacharya was the first to arrive, and his tone suggested the party was confident of winning. It was 8 am at the BJP headquarters in Kolkata on counting day, but the scene was unlike a typical result day.
At a press conference at Nabanna on Friday, Adhikari said an atmosphere free from fear and filled with trust had been established in the state, and that minorities were also placing their faith in the government.
At a press conference at Nabanna on Friday, Adhikari said an atmosphere free from fear and filled with trust had been established in the state, and that minorities were also placing their faith in the government. “After seeing the development led by the BJP government minority have started supporting BJP. Pro nationalist forces are leading in both the seats. “The victories in Nandigram and Rejinagar demonstrate that the people of the state stand by the current government’s development policies. In Rejinagar, in particular, a significant portion of our votes came from minority voters.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari was at the 9th edition of the MeDeVision National conference at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital at around 11.30 am, when half the votes in both seats had been counted. Bengali Muslims in the state have consistently backed the party in power, under Congress rule and for much of the 34-year Left Front tenure, according to him. He said a large section of the minority vote had likewise supported Mamata Banerjee over the past 15 years.
This is the end of the minority vote-bank based divisive politics in Bengal,” Bhattacharya said. At the start of his speech, he said: “Counting for two by elections are underway in Bengal. Attempts were made to mislead them by instilling false fears and claiming that their religious freedom would be taken away,” he said. “However, they have realized that this government works for the welfare of people across all castes, ethnicities, and religions,” the chief minister added. Adhikari said the shift of a large number of minority votes towards the BJP in Rejinagar and Nandigram followed a long-standing trend in Bengal. He said that having seen the pace of development under the BJP government over the last five months, the Muslim community in Rejinagar and Nandigram had decided to strengthen the ruling power.
