Assembly Elections 2026 updates: Rajnath promises ‘Durga Squad’, Seventh Pay Commission if BJP comes to power in Bengal

Senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Monday (April 20, 2026) accused the BJP of doing politics “over bodies” and claimed that the saffron party falsely linked the TMC with the unnatural death of two BJP workers in 2018 and forgot all about them and their families later.

Addressing an election meeting in support of party candidate Santiram Mahato in Balarampur Assembly constituency in West Bengal’s Purulia, Banerjee recalled that the then BJP national president Amit Shah had visited their families and promised jobs to the next of kin of the deceased, which had yet to happen.

“Will the Purulia BJP MP Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato and the BJP candidate from Balarampur Assembly seat explain why the next of kin of the two deceased – Dulal Kumar and Trilochan Mahato – did not get any job as promised? Will they explain why BJP leaders snapped contacts with the next of kin of the deceased after using their deaths politically?” he asked.

“After eight years, they have forgotten the two, as their deaths did not bring as much political gain as they had anticipated. This is the BJP, doing politics over the dead and exploiting the emotions of family members,” he said.

He also accused the BJP of doing little for the development of remote parts of Purulia despite the district having “double-engine” representation, referring to BJP MPs and MLAs.

“In contrast, the TMC will ensure piped drinking water to every household within the next five years,” he claimed.

“What have they done to give recognition to the Kurmali language spoken by the Kurmi community of the region. Our CM Mamata Banerjee had sent a letter to the Centre recommending inclusion of the language in the Eighth Schedule on February 19. Ask them why the Centre is sitting on the request. In contrast, our government has already accorded due recognition to the language,” he said. — PTI