Kolkata, Oct 28 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday claimed that the BJP has started gaining the confidence of minority voters in the state as people have realised that his government pursues development based on public welfare rather than religious considerations.

Adhikari made the remark while addressing the floor of the West Bengal Assembly on Wednesday after Hasirani Rath and Sakharav Sarkar took oaths following their victories in the recently concluded bypolls for Nandigram Assembly Constituency in East Midnapore district and Rejinagar Constituency in Murshidabad district, respectively.

West Bengal Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose administered the oath of office and secrecy to both. Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition in the House, Ritabrata Banerjee, congratulated them as the new members of the House.

Addressing the Assembly, the Chief Minister explained why the BJP had started gaining the trust of the minority voters in the state.

“Earlier, many played politics by describing the BJP as a communal party. I want to tell them now that 70,000 women in Rejinagar are benefiting from the Annapurna Yojana, out of which 35,000 are members of minority families. We are traditional Hindus and sport tilaks on our foreheads. But BJP prioritises ‘public necessity’ while running the administration. Out of 300 booths in Rejinagar, 200 are minority-dominated. BJP candidate Sakharav Sarkar won by a margin of 75,000 in Rejinagar,” the Chief Minister said.

The Chief Minister also said that the achievements of his government in its first six months were only the beginning, remarking that the initial performance was akin to “morning tea and snacks”, with the “lunch and dinner” yet to come.

Referring to his decision to retain the Bhabanipur Assembly seat after winning both Bhabanipur and Nandigram in this year’s Assembly elections, Adhikari said he opted against keeping Nandigram so as not to create an opportunity for former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, whom he defeated in Bhabanipur, to contest a by-election from that constituency.

He added that Banerjee should now take a rest instead of continuing to contest elections.

–IANS

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