"If we can end 34-year rule of CPM, we can oust BJP from nation too ": Mamata Banerjee

North 24 Parganas (West Bengal) [India], May 13 : Citing her determination, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said if her party can end 34-year rule of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in the state, her party has the capability to defeat the BJP in the country.
"If we can fight for 34 years and defeat the CPM, we can defeat the BJP as well. This is our challenge. They are saying that they will win more than 400 seats this time, I say, this time they will run away. They will not be successful. INDIA will win," the Chief Minister said while campaigning at Barrackpore in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district on Monday.
Asking people not to vote for the Communist Party of India (Marxist) who ruled the state before the BJP came into power, the Chief Minister said, "In Bengal, please vote for the Trinamool. Do not cut or divide your votes. And do not believe in the murderous CPM, given the state in which they left the state. I get frightened to even look at them."
Taking a dig at the BJP over "guarantees" promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the TMC supremo said, "We will not allow NRC in Bengal. This is our promise. I don't have the means to give guarantees. I am not a big shot. We won't allow NRC, CAA, Uniform Civil Code, will not allow anyone to take people's rights, won't allow riots. We will maintain peace, development and prosperity. This is our responsibility."
Giving support to the opposition INDIA bloc, the Chief Minister said that her state will help to form the government at the Centre.
"Bengal will show the way and help to form the government. We want to save our country, our people and want peace. We do not want anyone to sell off our country, our Constitution, our humanity and no one insults our women," Banerjee said.
Referring to the alleged conspiracy at Sandeshkhali where the Trinamool claimed that the BJP made women sign blank papers to script the case, the Chief Minister said, "Just for Rs 2000, they are making our women write whatever they wish. Sandeshkhali is PM Modi's terrible ploy. This should not happen. Bengal does not tolerate this..."
The Chief Minister said that people have learnt their lesson after voting for the BJP in the last Lok Sabha polls.
"If you do not want riots, don't even cast one vote for the BJP. You have got your lesson from the last time," Banerjee said.
Asking people to cast their votes and ensure that their name is included in the voter list, the Chief Minister said, "Please exercise your franchise so that your name stays on the voter list, so that you do not have to fear the NRC, CAA, Uniform Civil Code. Please keep your name on the voter list."
Though still a part of the Opposition bloc--INDIA, the TMC chose to go it alone in Bengal and announced candidates for all 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
The Congress and the Left Front have a seat-sharing arrangement in the state under which the Left parties contest 30 seats and the Congress contests the remaining 12 seats.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the TMC took the lion's share of the electoral spoils in the state, at 34, while the BJP had to be content with just 2 seats. The CPI(M) and the Congress won 2 and 4 seats, respectively.
However, in a poll stunner that few saw coming, the BJP turned the tables on the ruling TMC in the 2019 polls, winning 18 seats. The ruling party in the state saw its tally reduced to 22. The Congress fared a lowly third in the tally with just 2 seats while the Left Front was down to just a lone seat.