Death knell of BJP sounded, federal front successful: CM

Jalpaiguri: Trinamul Congress supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said the “death knell for the BJP has been sounded” with the result of the bypolls in 11 states and claimed that the federal front formula she had mooted has been a success.

The people are “disenchanted” with the BJP, she said after the declaration of results to four Lok Sabha and 10 assembly seats across the country.

“Death knell for the BJP has been sounded... The beginning of the end has started from Uttar Pradesh,” she told reporters here.

The BJP today suffered a major jolt in the bypolls, including in the Kairana Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh where opposition parties came together and supported the RLD candidate against the rival saffron party nominee.

Ms Banerjee said Uttar Pradesh will play a crucial role in the next Lok Sabha poll due next year. “If Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati Ji, Ajit Singh Ji come together, they can reverse the 2014 figures.”

The bypoll results have shown that the opposition parties have won wherever they were strong. “The regional parties, the federal front are now very strong in the country,” she said. Ms Banerjee had mooted the idea of federal front of regional parties and advocated a one-to-one electoral contest against the BJP.

“The result is a lesson for the regional parties. The (federal front) formula is successful. The people are disenchanted (with the BJP). In politics, one cannot achieve everything by force. There must be 1:1 fight. Alliances must be formed if necessary. And it has worked,” she said.

The TMC chief said the BJP could not defeat the RJD in Jokhihat bypoll in Bihar “even after jailing Lalu Prasad Yadav”, while in her state people reposed their trust in her party.

The TDP is strong in Andhra Pradesh, the DMK in Tamil Nadu, while the Shiv Sena and the NCP in Maharashtra.

The 2019 Lok Sabha poll, she said, might take place in five or six months and “we have to be prepared”.

Ms Banerjee alleged that there are attempts to undermine the Constitution and said: “No one should try to cross their limits. Whisper campaign and conspiracies may work at times, but fake news will not always win”. Continuing her criticism of the BJP, she said “divisive politics” may reap dividends for the time being but it harms the society in the long run. “We all have to live together in harmony. This is the spirit of India”.