Stoking communal tension will not win votes, says Mamata Banerjee

Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of instigating communal tension, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that votes cannot be won by spreading disharmony, but by parties uniting to form an alliance.

Mamata Banerjee slammed BJP and said the alliance between all the regional parties can bring great results for the benefit of the country. Addressing a news conference in New Delhi, Banerjee said that she sees a great potential in all the regional parties for the formation of the government

"People are very clever. Don't think that by stoking communal feelings one can come to power. If all the regional parties come together, then we can definitely see the result," she said.

Two pre-poll alliances were confirmed in Jharkhand on Monday, with the BJP and Babulal Marandi's Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) party, is leading the two formations. The BJP has agreed to let the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) contest on eight seats while the Trinamool Congress (TMC) will contest five seats. The alliances were formalised despite opposition within almost all the parties concerned. Meanwhile, BJP leader Sidhharth Nath Singh said that other parties were afraid of their power.
 

"Today Bengal is becoming a TMC- free Bengal. The fear of BJP is bringing these two parties (Congress and TMC), which had separated, together again," Singh said.

The BJP-AJSU alliance could only name six seats in which the latter would contest. The TMC, on the other hand, risks isolating its base in the Santhal Pargana by going into an alliance with the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) party .

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