BJP MP and the party’s star campaigner Manoj Tiwari made headlines on Saturday when he alleged that on the behest of the Mamata government, the local administration had not allowed his helicopter to land. He said that despite all such antics, they will not be able to stop him from campaigning for his party and see it win in Bengal with a huge margin.
Q: Mamata Banerjee got hurt during campaigning and made allegations against the BJP for conspiring to injure her.
A: We pray for her speedy recovery and wish for her well-being. But we would like to also clarify the fact that while she got hurt, she was travelling in her vehicle, surrounded by her party workers and security guards. Her allegation that the Bharatiya Janata Party conspired to attack her is unbelievable. We don’t do such petty politics. We even demanded a CBI investigation but she herself denied it. She should not extract political benefits from such an incident. The irony of the matter is that after getting hurt she reached out to the media before reaching the doctors.
Q: It’s a high voltage election. What will be the performance of your party?
A: West Bengal has been suffering for the last ten years, but it will not anymore. People have decided that they have had enough of Didi. “Hare Krishna Hare Hare, BJP Ghare Ghare” – these are the slogans people are chanting in the lanes of West Bengal. Every walk of society is delighted about the change ahead and it is visible on the streets of Bengal. I was denied permission to land my chopper at the last moment. This shows how terrified Didi is with just one Manoj Tiwari. The Chief Minister of West Bengal has conspired against the Bharatiya Janata Party by making the society volatile. She has provoked her workers so much that they attack anyone who utters the name of our Lord Ram. The administration is going through its worst time, or as someone would say, it is a complete failure. And the people of Bengal have taken this situation into consideration due to which they have now decided “BJP ko Bengal mein lana hai, TMC ko hatana hai”.
Q: How many seats do you think the BJP will score in the West Bengal Assembly election?
A: We were aspiring for 200 seats, but now the situation has changed. The way Didi is panicking, it seems like we will gain 20 to 25 more seats.
Q: BJP veteran and stalwart Yashwant Sinha has recently joined the TMC.
A: Yashwant Sinha ji is now a habitual turncoat. Whenever any election comes, he campaigns against the BJP. However, it never hurts the vote bank of the party so he has lost all credentials. He is no more the same Yashwant Sinha whom we saw in Vajpayee ji’s era.
Q: Do you think the dissent amongst farmers will have its say in the election?
A: The so-called farmer leaders have conspired to malign the intentions of real farmers but they have completely failed now. That’s why they are visiting states to garner a little bit of support. The real farmers know the reality of the farm bills and they will not accept such leaders as their representation.