Abhishek laughs off BJP vote share claim by Amit Shah in upcoming Assembly elections
Telegraph | 1 February 2026
Abhishek Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress national general secretary, on Saturday dismissed Union home minister Amit Shah's claim of securing over 50 per cent vote share, saying it was only meant to motivate BJP workers.
“Amit Shah claimed his party would win over 200 seats in the 2021 polls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed his party would perform best in Bengal in 2024.... When ballot boxes were opened, the tables turned,” said the MP and Mamata Banerjee’s nephew at Calcutta airport before flying off to Delhi for the budget session in Parliament.
“Such tall claims are made only to motivate BJP workers. I can say that they will never be able to defeat Bengal because they have not shown their report card of what they have done for the state,” he said.
Abhishek countered Shah’s claim of providing ₹10 lakh crore to Bengal for development. “If they claim to have provided ₹10 lakh crore, then they should come up with a white paper. After defeat in the Assembly polls in 2021, forget ₹10 lakh crore, they have not given even 10 paisa for rural road, rural housing or 100-day job schemes,” he claimed.
Shah questioned the state's failure to arrest the owner of a momo firm in connection with the Anandapur fire, alleging the person had accompanied Mamata on a foreign trip. In reply, Abhishek said: "The BJP always looks for dead bodies to do politics."
If they hold Mamata Banerjee responsible for the Anandapur fire, then the Prime Minister should be accountable for fire mishaps in Goa. Why should the Prime Minister and home minister not be held responsible for the deaths of 140 people from Bengal during the SIR?”
“If Shah criticises Mamata Banerjee for travelling abroad with a businessman, then the Prime Minister has also been seen with people like Nirav Modi, who fled the country after allegedly looting ₹15,000–20,000 crore. Nirav Modi was photographed with the Prime Minister during a foreign visit to the World Economic Forum,” he said.
Abhishek also countered Shah’s claim that he would resolve all Bangladesh border-related issues within 45 days if the BJP came to power in Bengal. “His party MP from Ranaghat, Jagannath Sarkar, had claimed that if the BJP comes to power, they would remove the border between India and Bangladesh. Now Amit Shah has to clarify who is right — he or Jagannath Sarkar. If Sarkar is wrong, then my question is whether Amit Shah has showcaused him,” said Abhishek.