'Poriborton' Yatra will dislodge TMC govt in Bengal: Dharmendra Pradhan

Garbeta (WB), Mar 1 (PTI) Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday said the 'Poriborton Yatra' by BJP will lead to the dislodging of the Mamata Banerjee regime in West Bengal and bring the 'double-engine' BJP government to accelerate the development pace in the state.

Before flagging off the 'Poriborton Yatra in Paschim Medinipur district, he told reporters that TMC allegedly wanted to change the demography of West Bengal by turning it into "West Bangladesh".

"Every right thinking citizen of the state now wants this Mamata Banerjee regime to go for his own safety, existence and the Poriborton Yatra will blaze the trail for that much-needed change.

"People of Bengal had expected there will be 'poriborton' (change) in 2011 after left misrule of 34 years. Though the left was removed, their conditions turned worse," he told reporters at the start of the rally.

Pradhan claimed that after coming to power in Bengal, "the double engine BJP government will accelerate the development process which had been stalled during the reign of TMC, ensure economic growth, employment and safety for women.

Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari and other BJP leaders also participated in the yatra.

Nine Poriborton yatras are originating from Cooch Behar, Krishnanagar, Kulti, Garbeta, Raidighi, Islampur, Hasan, Sandeshkhali and Amta, traversing every assembly constituency before culminating in a Brigade Parade Ground rally here, expected to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said.

The 5,000-km outreach initiative is designed as both a mass-contact exercise and an organisational test aimed at converting booth-level groundwork into visible street mobilisation, a party leader said.

During the 'Poriboron Yatra', the BJP planned to directly reach out to 1-1.5 crore people across 294 assembly constituencies, he said.

The programme kicked off a day after the publication of the revised electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the state.

In a jibe at Pradhan, TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said, "Pradhan and many other BJP heavyweights had been regularly visiting Bengal ahead of 2021 assembly polls. But everyone knows the outcome." "This year too, their yatras and raths will fail to evoke any response among the electorate. BJP has no connection with the masses and people of Bengal," he said. PTI SUS RG