Kolkata: Most of the exit polls point to the possibility of the BJP unseating the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to end Mamata Banerjee’s 15-year stint as the chief minister of West Bengal.
Refusing to throw in the towel, Mamata on Thursday dismissed the pollsters’ projections and asserted that TMC was headed for a massive victory by crossing the 226-seat mark in the 294-member Assembly.
With counting of votes in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Keralam and Puducherry to be taken up on May 4, Mamata urged TMC workers to “stand guard” round the clock at counting centres.
Addressing party workers and supporters in a video message, Mamata said: “I urge our workers and the public to stand united and ensure that, starting today, everyone keeps an equal and vigilant watch over the vote-counting process. If necessary, I myself will step out to stand guard in my own (Bhabanipur) constituency.”
She advised party leaders to maintain a 24-hour watch over polling and counting facilities.
“K
eep your workers on duty during the day, but take over the watch yourselves during the night. Stand guard! If I can stand guard, so can you. Stay awake through the night, and only go to sleep in the morning after handing over the watch to the next team,” she said.
The TMC supremo directed workers to closely monitor the handling of EVMs, particularly when they were being transported from strong rooms to counting halls. “During this critical window, when the EVM machines are being transported from their storage facilities to the counting halls, they (BJP) have hatched a plot to swap the machines,” Mamata alleged.
The chief minister alleged that exit polls are part of a broader political narrative intended to demoralise TMC workers.
“They know that we are poised to cross the 226-seat mark,” Mamata said, adding that the BJP was aware it could not stop the TMC’s momentum.
She pointed to the 2021 Assembly election in the state, when exit polls had predicted massive BJP gains and a very close race, but the reality was different.
“The exact same pattern unfolded in 2016, and it was repeated in 2021. Time and again, the exit polls showcased they have been entirely skewed in favour of the BJP.”
Thanking voters for turning out in record numbers despite harsh weather, said “we will successfully form our government of ‘Ma, Mati, Manush’ (mother, motherland and people)’.”