Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday expressed apprehension of violence a day before the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections in North Bengal. Addressing a public meeting at Maynaguri in Jalpaiguri today, Chief Minister Ms Banerjee said the BJP is planning to make trouble by organising processions to celebrate Ram Navami in the region tomorrow. “BJP is planning for its candidates to win with the help of violence.

You should prevent them from making any trouble during celebrations of Ram Navami and stay away from any provocation tomorrow,” Miss Banerjee said. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing an election rally at Balurghat, today claimed that the Trinamul Congress has hatched a conspiracy to prevent the people from celebrating Ram Navami in Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, addressing another public meeting in Siliguri today, said: “We want people to live in peace with good relations from the Hills to the Terai-Dooars region among all religions.” Miss Banerjee also claimed that the BJP will not cross 200 seats in the Lok Sabha elections, in reply to the Prime Minister’s claim that the ‘NDA will bag over 400 seats on 4 June’.

BJP will not be able to obtain the required number of Lok Sabha seats in many states where regional political parties are strong like Bihar, Tamil Nadu and even in Uttar Pradesh, she added. “Why are they jealous? Why are they branding a Sikh as Khalistani, a Muslim as Pakistani and criticizing Bengali who loves to eat fish? Who are they? People will decide and save the country from the hands of the BJP,” she said. Miss Banerjee today joined a padayatra on the Hill Cart Road in support of Gopal Lama, TMC candidate for Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat. The chief minister introduced Mr Lama as ason of the soil of Darjeeling, before the audience at Baghajatin Park in Siliguri and urged people to vote for him. Without naming the BJP candidate, Raju Bista, the Chief Minister said: “Please don’t vote for an outsider.”

Miss Banerjee also accused the BJP of circulating fake videos in the state. “They are spending crores of rupees to make such fake videos. After creating them, they are circulating them on social media. Do not trust whatever you see, since they always resort to falsehood,” the Chief Minister said at the election meeting in Jalpaiguri. The Chief Minister also accused a section of the Central agencies of attempts to influence the common people to support the BJP. “They are acting as younger brothers of BJP and trying to influence common people to support BJP,” she said. Mamata Banerjee is supposed to address a rally at Silchar, Assam on Wednesday, which is also Ram Navami day.

On Tuesday, preparations were in full swing at Silchar Town Club, the venue for the rally, where some 50,000 strong crowd is expected to attend, said sources in Assam. Assam state president of TMC Ripun Bora and party RS MP Sushmita Dev are expected to share the dias with the West Bengal chief minister. Sources said that the CM may take a chopper to Silchar from north Bengal where she is campaigning at present and be back on the same day.