Trinamul Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday that the BJP’s chances of returning to power are becoming bleak while predicting a rich harvest for her party in Bengal. “The ground reality is this – the chances of BJP returning to power is bleak and they will face significant losses in Uttar Pradesh where Akhilesh (Yadav)’s party is giving them a tough contest. In Rajasthan their fate has already been sealed, in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Telengana, their tally will be slashed to half.

In Tamil Nadu the BJP will get a zero and in Kerala, the CPI-M and the Congress will split the seats,” Miss Banerjee said. The state chief minister, who has been camping in Durgapur since yesterday addressed two election rallies in Ausgram and in Budbud of East Burdwan for her party candidates – Asit Mal (Bolpur), Kirti Azad (Bardhaman Durgapur) and Dr Sharmila Sarkar (Bardhaman Purba). Expressing concern over the prevailing heat wave conditions, Miss Banerjee ridiculed the Election Commission of India for stretching the electoral process over seven phases and said: “The schedule was made on purpose to facilitate the BJP. Still, we won’t allow a foothold to them.

I’ve been out campaigning since March and there is another month to go. I hope I’d be able to continue till the end.” Miss Banerjee said: “The more seats we can achieve, the more we will be able to strengthen the INDI Alliance at the Centre.” Attacking Union defence minister Rajnath Singh, she said in Budbud: “I had respect for him. But I was shocked to learn that he’s used abusive language while campaigning here the other day, which I never expected from him. He’s quoted as saying – Koi Mai ka Laal hai joCAA rok dega(is there anyone who can stop CAA)? I’m telling him, We’ll resist CAA.”

She went on to say: “We know you are protecting your chair offering pranama to Modi every day and night but you could have become the Prime Minister, we would have had no objection.” Miss Banerjee rebuked the BJP for choosing Narendra Modi as Prime Minister and said: “Why did they choose persons having blood on their hands?” She went on to say: “Sabko arrest karlo, ED, CBI, NIA vej do aur1 month Raaj korlo(send CBI, ED and arrest everyone. Enjoy your power for one more month).” She added: “He wants to paint everything saffron right from the trains to Doordarshan.

If he’d the ability, he would have painted the sky saffron too!” The TMC chief in both her poll rallies today complained that the Central forces deployed in Bengal like the BSF, the CRPF were intimidating the voters. She said: “They are asking the voters either to press the lotus button, or face bullets. I’ve got a copy of an FIR registered in Gsngarampur, Balurghat lodged by a victim’s family. Even the Railway employees are ordered to vote for BJP.” She also reiterated her anguish today over the Calcutta High Court’s judgment cancelling the appointment of over 25,000 teaching and non-teaching jobs. She said: “I’ve 10 lakh government jobs ready for our unemployed youths, but I’m afraid Calcutta High Court will create a hurdle to that, like how they’ve scrapped the teachers under the directions of the BJP.”