State assembly polls may happen in 2019: West Bengal BJP chief

Kolkata: Alleging a constant decline in the state’s law and order situation, West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh on Monday said the state was moving towards early state assembly polls that could be held along with the 2019 Lok Sabha election. [caption id=“attachment_2976342” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Bengal BJP party president Dilip Ghosh. Image Courtesy: Twitter[/caption] “The situation is going in that direction. The Lok Sabha and assembly elections can happen in the same year,” he said. “The way the TMC is attacking the BJP in every aspect, it seems that we do not have to wait till 2021. The way they have started countering us, it is possible that we would have to vote twice in 2019,” Ghosh said at the state committee meeting in West Bengal’s Bardhaman district. The state is scheduled to go to the hustings for a new assembly in 2021. Criticising the state BJP chief’s comments as abrupt, the Trinamool Congress said such statements should not be made without government and party-level discussions. “Ghosh’s comments came out of nowhere. There has been no discussion between the political parties and the governments, nor did the election commission make any such announcement,” state Rural Development Minister and senior Trinamool leader Subrata Mukherjee said. “I do not understand how he (Ghosh) made such a comment without considering so many factors attached to it. It seems that he is not aware of the impact of such an announcement,” he added.