EXCLUSIVE: 'BJP is our principal opposition, but it will not reach 100 seats'

West Bengal is in the midst of an intense political campaign. Allegations are flying thick and fast, promises being made to turn around West Bengal, and reality checks being offered by others.

But unlike previous elections, the battle for the West Bengal assembly seems to be primarily between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Trinamool Congress. At least, that's what Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy believes. Asianet Newsable's Yacoob spoke to Saugata Roy. 

Till around 2016, the West Bengal election used to be fought primarily between the Trinamool Congress and the Left parties. Today, the Left has been left behind, and BJP seems to have taken the prime contender spot. Does the TMC acknowledge that?

Yes, BJP is our principal opponent. BJP has suddenly come up after the 2019 Lok Sabha election. They got good results and since then have been putting a lot of interest in West Bengal. They have come up as an opposition.

As per the party's internal assessment, has the campaign against 'outsiders' resonated among West Bengal people?

Very much. BJP ministers are crowing West Bengal. (Prime Minister) Modi, Amit Shah, JP Nadda, Yogi Adityanath are frequently coming. People don't understand their language. They feel alienated from such outsider leaders who want to assert their identity.

Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, in an interview with Asianet News, had expressed anguish at the level of political violence in West Bengal, especially during the elections. What is your take on this? Does political violence have a place in democracy or the democratic process?

Political violence should have no place in a democracy. Some violence does take place. But in West Bengal, two phases have taken place, and there have been no deaths. And the governor has been regularly sounding alarms, which does not befit his role as a governor. But he if is doing, what can we do? We don't take him seriously.

The West Bengal election campaign has been one of the most communal, with both BJP and TMC accusing each other and the Congress of indulging in it. From Mohua Moitra's 'chotiwalla rakshas' jibe to the Gotra card confrontation between Mamataji and Giriraj Singh... What's your take on this?

BJP's style is always to communalize and polarise an election. They are doing that. We are not. We do not believe in polarising and criminalizing the election. That has been done by BJP.

After the first phase, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said trends indicated BJP was in the lead. What do you say? 

Amit Shah's prediction has always come out wrong. He has been proved wrong in many states (election result) -- Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and of course Delhi. So what he says has no importance. He does this just to bolster his morale.

How big a factor is anti-incumbency in this election?

There is anti-incumbency... there is anti-incumbency at the Centre which is putting people into trouble, bringing anti-farmer laws, increasing prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas. So there is anti-incumbency against them. There is anti-incumbency in the state (West Bengal), but only at the local level, which will not last.

After two rounds of voting, what is the sentiment that the TMC is picking up from the ground?

The sentiment is very much in favour of TMC for people to vote.

Besides taking on BJP-RSS, what are the issues that the TMC is going to the people with?

TMC is focusing on its many successful programmes for people so far. 'Kanyashree', 'Sabooj Sathi' and the most popular is 'Swasthya Sathi', which provides a health card for every family under which Rs 5 lakh were given to family members in a year for any expense incurred in a private medical institution. TMC is focussing on popular programmes and also the development that has taken place.

Are there any unfulfilled promises from your previous manifesto that your party would want to accomplish this time?

No. This time we are emphasising on setting up some big industries and also to provide five lakh jobs. This is the first time we emphasised on providing five lakh jobs every year. That is the main point in our manifesto. 

Every time, around polls, there is an attempt to forge a united front against the BJP and PM Modi. This election too, Mamataji wrote to leaders of all parties suggesting a big get-together for a strategy to take on the BJP after the current round of assembly polls. Somehow, previous attempts have all fizzled out. Why is that so?

That has got nothing to do with the state elections. This is to do for the post-election scenario.

How big a factor is the Congress in the lack of a cohesive opposition against the BJP?

Very weak! Congress is very weak. In this election, they forged an alliance with the Left. Together, they won't be able to make any dents.

The BJP says Bangladeshis are entering India via West Bengal, and the ruling TMC is making use of them to win elections by giving them voter card and other facilities. How do you respond to these charges?

That (allegations) is all bogus. That is all BJP's propaganda. Bangladeshis entering India is the responsibility of the Centre. They (Bangladeshis) come past the Border Security Force. The rest is BJP people's propaganda.

From Mukul Roy to Suvendu Adhikari, Rajib Banerjee and many TMC leaders quit accusing too much preference to Abhishek Banerjee. In a way, they were alleging nepotism. What do you say? 

No, no. Is the Adhikari family (Suvendu Adhikari, Sisir Adhikari, Dibyendu Adhikari) not an example of 'family raj'? So let them not speak. Abhishek (Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of CM Mamata Banerjee) is an elected member of the Lok Sabha. He is the president of the Youth Trinamool Congress. So they (TMC leaders who defected to BJP) have nothing to say. They left because they are greedy and scared of central cases (CBI, ED, IT and others)

There were reports about Mamata challenging Modi in Varanasi in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Is there any possibility?

Mamata Di challenging Modi? No, no. There is no truth in that.

Lastly, what will happen on May 2 (counting day)?

On May 2, we are going to win. BJP is not going to reach 100 (seats).