PM Modi had said: "Didi [West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee], on May 23, the day of results, the lotus will bloom everywhere and your MLAs will leave you and run. Even today, Didi, 40 of your MLAs are in contact with me."
The fourth phase polling of Lok Sabha election 2019 has become a sole battle between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
While there were reports of clashes between the two parties in Asansol, with saffron leader Babul Supriyo's car being vandalised, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his rally in Serampore -- a town close to Kolkata, said over 40 TMC leaders were in touch with the BJP -- a clear indication of an anticipated defection.
The TMC, however, does not concur with PM Modi's assertion. Senior party leader Derek O'Brien has said they would register a complaint with the Election Commission of India (ECI) and charge the prime minister with horse-trading.
Derek O'Brien took to Twitter and said, "Expiry Babu PM , let’s get this straight. Nobody will go with you. Not even one councillor. Are you election campaigning or horse trading! Your expiry date is near. Today, we are complaining to the Election Commission. Charging you with horse trading #LokSabhaElection2019"
In the rally, PM Modi had said: "Didi [West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee], on May 23, the day of results, the lotus will bloom everywhere and your MLAs will leave you and run. Even today, Didi, 40 of your MLAs are in contact with me."
Modi also said he was waiting for laddoos, made of mud and mortar, as Mamata Banerjee, in a media interaction, had promised to gift him.
The outlandish gifting idea by Mamata Banerjee was in response to PM Modi's declaration in a 'non-political' interview with Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar. He had said the West Bengal chief minister regularly sends one-two kurtas and Bengali sweets to him.
Mamata Banerjee, along with Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, has been spearheading the movement to oust PM Modi and the BJP from power at the Centre.
Mamata even organised and emceed a grand Mahagathbandhan rally at Kolkata parade ground in January. Leaders of as many as 22 Opposition parties were a part of this rally.
Meanwhile, PM Modi has been being slapped with many election commission notices -- for allegedly violating the model code of conduct (MCC).
The Supreme Court has even agreed to hear a petition filed by Congress MP Sushmita Dev, seeking urgent and necessary directions to the ECI to take a decision on the complaints filed against PM Modi and BJP president Amit Shah over alleged violation of electoral laws.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said it would hear the petition on April 30.
The Congress had earlier said the Model Code of Conduct had become a ‘Modi Code of Conduct’.
