- West Bengal assembly elections will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29
- BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari claims BJP-originated welfare schemes are copied by Trinamool Congress
- Adhikari was speaking on NDTV's Walk The Talk
West Bengal will vote for its 294-member assembly in two phases on April 23 and April 29. Counting of votes will take place on May 4. Speaking on NDTV's Walk the Talk, recorded in the Bhowanipore constituency, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari positioned himself as the face of the party's campaign against the Trinamool Congress and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Adhikari stated that the welfare schemes now associated with the Trinamool Congress originated in BJP-ruled states. He claimed the model began under Shivraj Singh Chouhan as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and Sarbanand Sonowal as Chief Minister of Assam.
"Mamata Banerjee and PK copied them. These are BJP schemes," he told NDTV's Editor-in-Chief Rahul Kanwal. He added that the BJP would combine welfare with job creation.
"Along with the welfare scheme, we promised to create jobs. Every central scheme will be implemented to build Bengal economically and to make it a cultural and spiritual capital of the country," Adhikari told NDTV.
Adhikari noted a "huge gap" in employment and said the public should receive government support to close it. "The BJP government will fix this gap," he declared.
He described Bengal as the land of Chaitanya Dev, Swami Vivekananda and Maa Sarada. He stressed that the BJP is neither a regional party nor a personal party.
"Under the supervision of Narendra Modi, in his guidance, Delhi, UP, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, wherever the BJP government comes, the way it is running, Bengal will also follow that path," Adhikari declared.
"There will be no corruption on that path. There will be no brother-nephew relationship. There will be no politics of corruption," he added.
Adhikari dismissed Mamata Banerjee's claim that a BJP victory would direct all contracts to Gujaratis.
Adhikari claimed areas in south-west Bengal and Kolkata where the TMC defeated the BJP badly in the last election, would now see BJP victories. He went as far as naming certain candidates who will win in the polls.
"Pratap Chaurangi will win, Santosh Pathak will win, Surnima Bhain will win, Vijay Ujja will succeed. Kolkata has woken up," Adhikari declared.
Adhikari dismissed Mamata Banerjee's claim that a BJP victory would direct all contracts to Gujaratis.
"She is trying to make a narrative. All these people are liars. In 21 states, BJP and India are the government. In 20-21 states, there are no such incidents. All this is a lie. Mamata Bajernee is a liar," Adhikari claimed.
On urban support, Adhikari argued that the bhadralok class in Bengal is ready to move away from the TMC. He cited Lok Sabha election results in urban areas, noting that in North Kolkata, which has 50 or 60 wards, the BJP won 28 wards.
