April 24, Kathmandu – The first phase of voting in India’s West Bengal took place on Thursday. Following this initial phase, Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah claimed that his party would win 110 out of the 152 seats contested. “Based on the feedback we have received, the people of Bengal have already decided their future in this first phase,” Home Minister Shah said at a press conference on Friday. “There has been heavy voter turnout, which clearly indicates that Didi will go. The BJP is coming; fear will leave and trust will come.” The term “Didi” refers to West Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has continuously led the state for 15 years and whose party has won the last three elections.
Shah also asserted that the next Chief Minister of West Bengal will come from the BJP and will be Bengali-medium educated. “I want to tell Didi that the upcoming Chief Minister of Bengal will be born in Bengal, educated in Bengali medium, and fluent in the Bengali language. He will not be your nephew but a dedicated worker of the Bharatiya Janata Party,” said Home Minister Shah.
