Bengal will give befitting reply to ‘anti-Bengali’ BJP: Abhishek at Pandua
The Statesman | 19 April 2026
Abhishek Banerjee, Trinamul Congress (TMC) national general secretary today launched a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Pandua, Tushar Majumdar, alleging that he had falsely claimed to be a doctor and was involved in corruption.
He said that in the previous election, Majumdar had contested from Dhaniakhali against Ashima Patra and lost to the TMC by a margin of 31,000 votes. He further alleged that Majumdar’s medical credentials were later found to be fake.
Abhishek was addressing an election campaign meeting at Pandua in support of party candidates Samir Chakraborty (Pandua), Ashima Patra (Dhaniakhali) and Ranjan Dhara (Balagarh).
Referring to development work in the constituency, Banerjee said that during her tenure as MLA, Dr Ratna Nag had established a supermarket, a fire brigade station and a government ITI college in Pandua. He also criticised the former BJP MP from Hooghly, alleging that she failed to secure central funds for the development of the Hooghly Lok Sabha constituency.
Highlighting organisational strength, Banerjee noted that Pandua block has 16 gram panchayats, of which the TMC performed well in 13 in the previous election. He urged voters to cast their ballots on 29 April against what he described as the “anti-Bengal and anti-Bengali” BJP. “Every vote against the BJP will be a befitting reply,” he said, alleging that the Centre had deprived West Bengal of its rightful share of funds for welfare schemes and development projects.
He further claimed that voting against the BJP would also be a protest against alleged harassment of Bengalis in other states and remarks labelling them as Bangladeshis.
Banerjee cautioned voters against believing the BJP’s recently published manifesto, alleging that the party’s actions demonstrate its anti-Bengal stance. He reiterated that the state had been deprived of Central funds meant for development initiatives.
Addressing farmers’ concerns, Banerjee said Pandua has a significant number of potato cultivators and that Hooghly district witnessed a bumper potato yield this year. He announced that from next year, the state government would allocate Rs 30,000 crore to the agriculture budget and set up 50 cold storage facilities across the state, including one in Pandua.
He also criticised the Central government for increasing the prices of fertilisers and packaging materials, noting that potato-carrying plastic bags, once priced at Rs 8, now cost Rs 25. He accused the BJP-led government under Narendra Modi, of pursuing anti-farmer policies, alleging that many farmers had been adversely affected.
Banerjee assured that voters whose names had been deleted from the electoral rolls would be re-enrolled if the TMC returned to power for a fourth term.
He further alleged that the BJP was attempting to curtail constitutional rights and impose restrictive social norms. Calling on people to safeguard Bengal’s cultural heritage, he said the state is globally recognised as a land of saints, philosophers, poets, social reformers and freedom fighters.
Banerjee concluded by asserting that a TMC-led government would continue to promote Bengal’s rich cultural traditions while ensuring the constitutional rights of every citizen.