Kolkata, May 15
In a strongly-worded statement, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday that she will "cease to exist" if the BJP retains power at the Centre after the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

Addressing an election meeting in Hooghly in support of Trinamool Congress candidate and actress-turned-politician Rachana Banerjee, the Chief Minister said: "If the BJP returns to power, I will cease to exist. You will cease to exist. The common people will cease to exist. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will cease to exist. The farmers and workers will cease to exist. That is why defeating the BJP in every single seat is important for us."

In 2019, BJP’s actress-turned-politician Locket Chatterjee got elected from Hooghly by over 83,000 votes. She has been re-nominated by the party this time as well.

Calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a "propaganda-oriented PM", the Chief Minister said, "He knows nothing except self-propaganda. He is violating the Model Code of Conduct by making promises. And the Election Commission is sitting like a puppet, acting at the behest of the ruling party."

She also attacked the poll panel over the multi-phase elections in the state.

“The officials are sitting in air-conditioned rooms. How will they feel the sufferings of the common people due to the extended polling in the middle of this scorching summer,” she asked the gathering.

She also reiterated that every vote against the BJP is important to prevent the implementation of NRC (National Register of Citizens), CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act), and UCC (Uniform Civil Code) in the country.

“It is my promise that these three draconian laws will not be implemented in the country if the BJP is voted out of power,” she said.

EC is a puppet acting at the behest of the ruling party: Mamata Banerjee