BJP's arrogance, pride crushed into dust: TMC's Abhishek Banerjee on LS poll results

Kolkata: Hailing the Lok Sabha elections as that of "protest, resistance and revenge", senior Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee said the poll results have "crushed BJP's arrogance and pride into dust".

He also accused the saffron party of "abusing central agencies, corrupting the judiciary, gagging the media and manipulating the Election Commission to cling to power".

In a Facebook post late on Friday night after meeting party workers and common people in his Diamond Harbour constituency, from where he was re-elected by a record margin of over 7 lakh votes, the TMC national general secretary said that the 2024 Lok Sabha polls will be etched in golden letters in history as 'jonogoner gorjon' (people's roar).

"The 'jonogoner gorjon' (people's roar) will be etched in golden letters in the history. This Lok Sabha election was one of 'protibaad, protirodh and protishodh' (protest, resistance and revenge). BJP's arrogance, pride, and backbone have been crushed into dust," he said.

Although the BJP-led NDA returned to power for a third consecutive term, the saffron party failed to secure a majority on its own, and has to rely on the support of key allies Telugu Desam Party and JD (U) for continuance in power.

On the TMC's performance in West Bengal, where it bagged 29 of the 42 seats, improving its tally by seven seats as compared to the 2019 polls, Banerjee, the de facto number two in the party, said, "Bengal and the country witnessed a new dawn on June 4 (when Lok Sabha poll results were announced)." He thanked the people of Diamond Harbour for giving him a huge mandate.

"Your support and prayers have bound me in a debt of love, a debt I vow to repay with transformative development," he said.

He also accused the BJP of uprooting the democratic rights of the people.

Banerjee, who has been interrogated by central agencies several times in the past in connection with alleged coal and cattle scams, slammed the Narendra Modi government of "abusing central agencies".

"They abused central agencies, corrupted the judiciary, gagged the media and manipulated the Election Commission to cling to power," he said.

"Heartiest greetings and congratulations to the people of the country, the people of Bengal, and above all, my colleagues and co-workers in the Trinamool Congress. You are the backbone of this victory. Joy Bangla!" Banerjee said.