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Kolkata, May 2 (IANS): With the Trinamool Congress poised to cruise to a landslide victory in the Assembly elections to return to power for third time in a row, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday dedicated the win to the people of West Bengal, besides taking a dig at both the Election Commission and the BJP.
However, there seemed to be a setback for the Trinamool supremo in Nandigram, where after several twist-and-turns, her one-time aide Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP reportedly defeated her by a narrow margin. The Trinamool, however, has not accepted the verdict yet, claiming that the counting is still on.
"The counting process for Nandigram has not been completed. Please do not speculate," the party tweeted.
Speaking at the state secretariat Nabanna, Banerjee didn't spare the EC besides hinting that something wrong is going on in Nandigram.
"The Election Commission worked as a spokesperson of the BJP and now see what they are doing. Three hours back, it said something and now it is saying something else. Let Nadigram give its verdict, I shall accept that. I shall go to the court," she said.
There was a tweet from Banerjee that read "For winning a greater battle you must sacrifice something."
She was hinting at the confusion that prevailed in Nandigram. Initially there was an announcement that Banerjee has won from Nandigram. Even BJP spokesperson Jay Prakash Mamjumdar congratulated Banerjee on her victory, but after that there were reports that Suvendu Adhikari has won.
Making it obvious that fighting Covid is her priority, the Trinamool supremo vowed to work for the people all through her life.
"This is a victory for the people of Bengal. This is a victory of the people of the country. This is a victory of democracy. The people of Bengal have saved democracy," Banerjee said.
The Chief Minister also made it clear that her fight against the BJP will continue.
"I announce that all the people of the state will get free vaccine. I would also like to request the Central government to arrange for free vaccination for all the people of the country. This is our demand and if it is not met, I shall go for a non-violent movement at the foot of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi. It will need only INR 3,000 crore for vaccinating the whole country and that is not a huge amount," the Banerjee said.
"BJP has used everything -- money power, muscle power and everything possible -- but the people of Bengal have voted for development. The people of Bengal have saved democracy. I congratulate all my mothers and sister and minority brothers and sisters," she added.
Banerjee also announced that there will be no victory procession right now because of the Covid situation.
"The oath taking ceremony will also be organised in a small way. There will be a huge victory rally at the Brigade, but that will be announced later once the pandemic subsides," she said.