'Fought Well Against Left, Then Became Worse': BJP Leader On Mamata Banerjee

Mamata Banerjee waged a great battle against the Left but she later surpassed it in committing atrocities, said BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday, reacting to his party's landslide victory in West Bengal after decades of struggle to get a foothold in a state previously dominated by the Trinamool Congress and the CPI(M).

Prasad attributed the Trinamool Congress's loss in the West Bengal Assembly elections to its chief Mamata Banerjee's "arrogance".

"What you are seeing is the complete rejection of all the misdeeds of Mamata ji... arrogance never works in politics... Mamata Banerjee fought a great battle against the Left, and that she has surpassed the Left's atrocities is something shocking and surprising," he said in an interview with NDTV.

He said the Left and Banerjee "mercilessly finished" the great spiritual tradition of West Bengal.

"Today, it was an emotional day for us. Bengal is the Karm Bhoomi of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, our founder leader, who sacrificed his life for the unity of this country... The BJP having a decisive victory -- it is a very emotional moment for us. The second thing I like to flag today -- whether it is Bankim Chandra, whether it is Ram Krishna Paramhans or Vivekanand -- they resurrected the great spiritual tradition of Bengal, merging it with India's cultural nationalism, which we have lost sight of, when India became free... The Left mercilessly finished it and Mamata Banerjee surpassed even that," he said.

He further said that the Trinamool Congress under Banerjee committed atrocities in Bengal's hinterland.

"I have visited Bengal as a leader of the delegation of MPs that probed violence during the Gram Panchayat elections. I had gone to a village where the family of a BJP leader was mercilessly attacked... there was fear, there were atrocities, there was terror in the hinterland of West Bengal. Many industrialist friends of mine told me that their voter slips were snatched," he claimed.

Referring to the change in political equations in Bengal and Tamil Nadu - where actor Vijay's party will likely form a government, he said the poll results are a reflection of the changing mood of India.

"A reflection of the changing mood of India. Aspirational India is rising. Enough of regional sentiments. If you can't deliver good governance, tata-tata, bye-bye. If you can't give a good civil life, tata-tata, bye-bye," he added.

At 3.30 pm, the BJP is leading in 189 of Bengal's 293 seats whose votes are being counted. The Trinamool is leading 98.

In Tamil Nadu, Vijay's TVK is leading in 105 seats and is heading toward becoming the single-largest party.