BJP's defeat proof that there's no place for audacity in democracy: Mamata

Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee, fresh from a landslide win in West Bengal, sounded upbeat as she said the assembly results have shown that “BJP can be defeated”.

“They need political oxygen now,” Banerjee told NDTV in an exclusive interview. “The BJP can be defeated. It is the people’s choice. People have shown the way. In a democracy you should not show audacity or ego,” she said.

The Trinamool leader blamed BJP for post-poll violence in parts of Bengal, saying the party is “trying to create trouble in areas where they have won”.

“This is BJP’s propaganda. Some sporadic incidents are there, but it happens in every state. I am not justifying violence. BJP is trying to create communal clash, because of their shameful defeat,” she said.

Trinamool emerged victorious in a bitter election, held in the midst of a raging pandemic and marred by violence, which finally saw Mamata Banerjee emerge victorious for a record third time.

Also read: Modi speaks to Bengal governor over post-poll violence; BJP moves SC

Banerjee first created history in 2011 when she ended the Left Front’s 34-year rule in Bengal. This election was a bigger challenge for the Mamata-led Trinamool because it was fighting anti-incumbency of 10 years, several defections in the party and the Modi-Shah double engine of the BJP.

Despite getting a clear majority (213 seats) in the Bengal assembly, Mamata Banerjee lost the prestigious Nandigram seat to once close confidante Suvendu Adhikari, who fought as a BJP candidate.