Locket Chatterjee is the BJP's co-incharge for Uttarakhand. File
After returning from her two-day visit to Uttarakhand, state BJP co-incharge Locket Chatterjee today exuded confidence that the party will form the government again in the state by winning over 60 seats in Assembly polls next year.
"We know that we will form a BJP government in Uttarakhand again. Our target this time is to secure over 60 seats," she told ANI.
Ms Chatterjee said the reason for this belief is because, during the Covid period, the central state governments have done good work together in Uttarakhand.
"There has been a lot of development in Uttarakhand under the double-engine government here. We all know that Uttarakhand is Dev Bhoomi, and everyone from Dev Bhoomi wants a BJP government in Uttarakhand again," she added.
Terming her visit to Uttarakhand as "very good", Ms Chatterjee said that it was her first visit to the state.
"I and RP Singh had a meeting with everyone under the leadership of Prahlad Joshi. We had a core committee meeting with the district president, the district in charge, MLAs, and all the office bearers there," she said.
Further, Ms Chatterjee claimed that while a few Congress leaders in Uttarakhand have already joined BJP, several others will be joining the party. "It was seen in Bengal that the Congress and the CPM were completely finished. People are joining our party and many more people will join in the future," she added.
Assembly polls in Uttarakhand are due next year. In the last Assembly polls in 2017, BJP won 56 seats while Congress bagged 11 seats in 70-member Uttarakhand Assembly.
Commenting over an article in Jago Bangla -- a newspaper brought out by the Trinamool Congress -- that said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is the right candidate for the next Prime Minister, and called Rahul Gandhi's candidature as ineligible, Ms Chatterjee said, "Jago Bangla newspaper belongs to the TMC government, so it is their own. So, they will write their words in the newspaper."
"Mamata Banerjee will not be a PM candidate, we are seeing what she and the TMC government did all during the post-poll violence. Everyone knows this," she added.
Claiming that Prime Minister Modi is the best fit for the post in 2024 too, she said, "All these people know that the country is progressing under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and in the same way in 2024, only BJP government will come under the leadership of Modi ji."