Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Suvendu Adhikari has found a novel way to woo voters in his constituency Nandigram.
The BJP leader has announced that he will take 100 people from Nandigram to Ayodhya every month to see the grand Ram Mandir.
“On January 22, history will be created as the Narendra Modi government has decided to link 700 trains with Ayodhya .There are people in my constituency who do not have the capacity to go by themselves so every month, I will make arrangements for them.”
The leader’s promise to bear the entire cost has triggered a political storm in the state, with parties accusing BJP of trying to sell religion.
TMC general secretary Kunal Ghosh told News18: “He [Adhikari] can take people anywhere because he has huge money. ED and CBI should raid his house because he has a lot of money. We have high regard for Lord Ram, we all worship him, but Adhikari is just showing off his money.”
Bengal BJP has also undertaken a programme to send invitation cards and rice in ‘prasad’ to each house of every ‘mondal’.
BJP sources said both Home Minister Amit Shah and party chief JP Nadda have instructed the cadre to be aggressive on the Ram Mandir issue and hence, the state unit will reach out to every mondal till January 15.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of Congress said: “The way they are using religion with politics is really bad. Adhikari has money so he can do these things.”
Left leader Sujan Chakraborty added: “We have no interest in what he plans with his constituency but they are setting a bad example by using religion in politics.”
Sources in Nandigram said people have already started asking about Adhikari’s Ayodhya plan.
Nandigram is a prestigious seat for Adhikari as he defeated chief minister Mamata Banerjee from here in 2021 and therefore, he is leaving no stone unturned to woo his voters ahead of the crucial 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
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