‘Will continue to extend support’: PM Modi congratulates Mamata Banerjee, TMC

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee as her party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), neared victory in the recently held assembly elections in the state.

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“Congratulations to Mamata Didi for TMC’s win in West Bengal. The Centre will continue to extend all possible support to the West Bengal government to fulfil people’s aspirations and also to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic,” tweeted PM Modi as the official Election Commission of India (ECI) trends showed that the ruling TMC was leading in more than 200 of West Bengal’s 294 assembly constituencies.

Prime Minister Modi further shared, “I would like to thank my sisters and brothers of West Bengal who have blessed our party. From a negligible presence earlier, the BJP’s presence has significantly increased. The BJP will keep serving the people. I applaud each and every karyakarta for their spirited effort in the polls.”

While the TMC closed in on a dominant victory, party supremo Banerjee lost to her former close aide Suvendu Adhikari, who is now in the BJP, from the assembly constituency of Nandigram. Earlier, there were reports of Banerjee defeating Adhikari, the sitting MLA from Nandigram, by 1200 votes.

Also Read | Don't worry about Nandigram, says Mamata amid result flip-flop

PM Modi also congratulated Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan for the Left’s victory in the assembly elections in Kerala and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief MK Stalin for his party winning in Tamil Nadu.

Sunday’s counting of votes brings curtains to assembly elections in four states-West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Kerala-and the Union territory of Puducherry. Bengal voted in a record eight phases, between March 27 and April 29, while Assam went to polls on March 27, April 1 and April 6. Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, meanwhile, voted in a single phase on April 6.