WB an ‘extension of Bangladesh’: Assam CM

West Bengal saw a turnout of 93.19 per cent in the first phase of elections, its highest since Independence. Pic/PTI; (right) Assam CM Himanta Sarma. PIC/PTI

Targeting West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday, "In my colony, there was only one Muslim family, but now my colony is 25 per cent Muslim. The country's Muslim population cannot increase in this way. In many areas of Malda, Murshidabad, and Dinajpur, if you visit, you will feel that it is an extension of Bangladesh."

The state saw a turnout of 93.19 per cent in the first phase, which was its highest since Independence. "In the first phase, there was 93 per cent polling, and it is clear that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is on its way out and the BJP is going to form a government. In 2011, when there was 84 per cent turnout, the Left Front government fell and the TMC came to power. The high turnout is a clear message from the voters," Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Kunal Ghosh on Saturday claimed that the party has performed strongly in the first phase of polling in the West Bengal Assembly elections and asserted that the TMC is set to retain power in the state. Reacting to the first phase of polling, Ghosh said, "The first phase of voting is complete, the BJP's back is broken in the first phase of voting, the BJP has lost."

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