New Delhi: Defeated CM’s Suvendu Adhikari Mamata Banerjee Confronting her in Bhabanipur in 2021, on his turf of Nandigram – is just the beginning for the Union Minister Amit ShahDetermined to bring down the TMC supremo in their own backyard. What followed was the precise execution of hard groundwork and centralized management that culminated in her shocking downfall, ending her party’s drubbing in Bengal – Suvendu’s monumental killing achievement as the most dramatic defeat of the election. But behind this headline-grabbing feat is a lot of “silent work” by Shah, with sources in the know of the BJP saying that the home minister is determined to go all out to defeat Mamata in her pocket ward, setting the stage for the BJP’s path to victory.
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The aggressive Suvendu proved himself capable, and Shah began assembling a dedicated team for Babanipur to ensure that his strategy was effectively executed. A source who has been drafted for the BJP campaign said that every night he spent in Kolkata, meetings were held specifically to discuss the seat.ALSO READ | Iron fence collapses, road leading to Mamata Banerjee’s house open to publicThe constituency has about 25,000 Gujarati voters and 21,000 Marwari voters, a balance between these communities, and Shah met these groups separately and held an informal dinner as they shared their views, creating a genial atmosphere. These communities alleged that TMC members resorted to heavy-handed tactics to prevent them from voting in early polls and often fake votes were cast in their name. “They said if their society was provided with security, they would be able to vote freely. Shah ensured that protection was arranged at every such location,” a BJP official said.
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Shah’s team has also appointed a dedicated booth-level leader for each booth in Babanipur. Their job is twofold – to point out any internal divisions within the party and report any intimidation on the ground by the TMC. Shah’s personal aim is to get all BJP workers to vote by 11 am and then work to ensure maximum turnout for the party. BJP members, including MLAs from other states who can connect with different communities, have also been deployed. Around 47,000 names were removed from the electoral roll in Babanipur through the SIR process – either deceased voters or duplicate entries that the TMC claimed were used to cast fake votes. All efforts finally came together to give Mamata a crushing defeat by more than 15,000 votes that few expected, despite her claims that the election was stolen from her and her party through undemocratic means.
