Mamata Banerjee breaks tradition with morning tour of constituencies, Suvendu Adhikari says she is losing
Telegraph | 29 April 2026
Mamata Banerjee broke away from her usual routine on polling day and went on a tour of the booths as Bhabanipur went to polls in the second phase of the Bengal Assembly polls.
The chief minister, even when she was the undisputed leader of Bengal’s Opposition while the Left Front was in power, stayed put at her 30B Harish Chatterjee Street residence.
Her trusted lieutenants like the Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim, minister Aroop Biswas, the former mayor and once-close confidante Sovan Chatterjee, local councillors and others would provide her with updates from the polling booths.
In 2011, the year when Trinamool came to power, too she was at her residence and stepped out to vote towards the end of the day. Contesting from Nandigram in the last Assembly elections, the chief minister did not break her routine.
This time facing the same adversary from Nandigram Mamata Banerjee changed her tactics.
Her first stop was at Firhad Hakim’s locality in Chetla.
“People are supposed to vote. Can voting take place like this? Our flags have been removed. The family members of our councillor from ward 70 were threatened last night. He is not being allowed to step outside Bobby (Firhad Hakim)’s residence was raided. What is going on?” Mamata asked.
The chief minister said a Trinamool worker was beaten in South 24-Parganas Bhangar.
Mamata stopped at a booth in Chakraberia and went around the place.
A little later she went inside a house behind the Puddapukur swimming pool. Her rival Suvendu Adhikari arrived soon after.
“She is losing. Nobody is voting for her. That is why she is extremely frustrated,” Suvendu said.
Mamata later went to the residence of the ward 70 councillor to meet him.
“They have brought in some people from outside, and these people are doing nothing but spreading fear and terror among voters. They will leave soon,” she said.
Trinamool’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee left for Amtala soon after casting his vote at Mitra Institution.
“None of these tricks will work. When the EVMs are opened it will mark the comeback of Trinamool Congress with a bigger majority,” Abhishek said.