Didi: BJP may go for LS polls in Dec, has booked all choppers!

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said that the BJP might conduct the Lok Sabha polls in December itself, claiming that all choppers have been booked by the saffron party for campaigning.

Banerjee, who was speaking at a TMC students' wing rally, cautioned that a third term for the BJP would ensure the nation faces an “autocratic” rule.

The chief minister also blamed some people engaged in “unlawful activities” for the illegal firecracker factory blasts that have occurred in the state.

She alleged that this was being done “with support from a few police personnel”.

"I am apprehensive that they (BJP) could hold the Lok Sabha elections in December 2023 itself, or in January... If the BJP returns to power for the third consecutive term, the nation would face an autocratic rule," she said.

Banerjee claimed that the BJP has “already booked all choppers” to campaign in the Lok Sabha polls, so that no other political party can use those for canvassing.

Other TMC members clarified that she meant helicopters appeared to have been booked throughout the country.

“The saffron party has already turned our country into a nation in the throes of animosity among communities. If they return to power, it will make our country a nation of hatred," she said.

The general elections are due in 2024. Banerjee also alleged that Governor C V Ananda Bose was violating constitutional norms, and that she does not support his “unconstitutional activities”.

“Don't take 'panga' (challenge) with an elected government,” the chief minister said, referring to Bose. Referring to raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in various parts of Bengal in connection with graft cases, the chief minister claimed that the central agency is planning "to arrest Abhishek Banerjee (TMC national general secretary) before the Lok Sabha polls”. (PTI)