During the inauguration of an integrated check post, a passenger terminal building, and Maitri Dwar at Petrapole land port on October 27, Shah had accused the TMC government in West Bengal of being corrupt and had said that “ache din” — a BJP political slogan of good days — will usher in the state with the counting of votes in the 2026 Assembly elections.
In a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer, TMC state unit president Subrata Bakshi pointed out that Petrapole falls under the administrative district of North 24 Parganas where two Assembly seats, Haroa and Naihati, will go for bypolls on November 13.
“It should be noted that the Election Commission of India had through a notification… stated that the Model Code of Conduct for the by-elections in Assembly constituencies will come into immediate effect on the day… on October 15,” the TMC wrote.
“Point 3 (i)(a) and (b) of the stated guidelines clearly dictate that “ministers shall not combine their official visits with electioneering work and shall not make use of official machinery or personnel during the electioneering work; government transport including official air-crafts, vehicles, machinery, and personnel shall not be used for furtherance of the interest of the party in power,” the letter added.
Despite this, Amit Shah “chose to make… slanderous remarks against Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee with an intent to defame. The politically charged remarks — calling for a ‘parivartan in 2026’ —were in no way connected to the event in question, raising serious doubts over the Union Home Minister’s intentions to maintain the line between official events and electioneering work”, the party wrote to the EC.
“This is in blatant violation of the model code’s provisions designed to ensure a fair and unbiased electoral process,” the TMC wrote and asked the EC to issue a show-cause notice to Shah and “issue appropriate directions/orders to concerned stakeholders to further restrain” him and BJP leaders from violating the poll code ahead of the by-elections in six Assembly constituencies.
At the Sunday’s programme, Shah said, “The money that PM Modi sends is misused due to corruption. Don’t worry – with the counting of the 2026 (Assembly) election in Bengal, ache din (good days) will start… Bring in change in West Bengal in 2026. (We) will put an end to infiltration and ensure peace in the state,”
Six Assembly constituencies — Sitai in Cooch Behar district, Madarihat in Alipurduar, Naihati and Haroa in North 24 Parganas, Medinipur in Paschim Medinipur and Taldangra in Bankura — will go for bypolls on November 13.
The bypolls are being held following the resignation of sitting MLAs after they were elected to Lok Sabha earlier this year.