PM Modi claims 40 TMC MLAs are in touch with him; Trinamool alleges horse-trading

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday claimed that 40 Trinamool Congress MLAs in West Bengal, the party led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, were in touch with him and that many of them would leave the party after the Lok Sabha results were declared on 23 May. He was speaking at a BJP rally in Serampore in Hooghly district.

Modi’s claims

Addressing Banerjee as “Didi”, Modi said the lotus, the BJP’s symbol, would bloom everywhere on results day and that her MLAs would desert her. He said she would find it hard to save herself and accused her of betraying the people of Bengal. He said voters in the state had one slogan: vote quietly for the lotus and wipe out the TMC from every booth.

Modi also blamed TMC “goons” for poll violence, alleging they were trying to stop people from voting, attacking BJP workers and preventing BJP leaders from campaigning.

TMC’s response

TMC MP Derek O’Brien said the party would complain to the Election Commission of India, accusing the Prime Minister of horse-trading. In a tweet he said not a single councillor would go with Modi and asked whether he was campaigning or horse-trading.

The rosogolla exchange

Modi also responded to Banerjee’s remark that she would offer him rosogollas made of mud and pebbles. That remark, made at a rally in Raniganj, was her reply to Modi saying in an interview with Akshay Kumar that she sends him sweets. Modi said the soil of Bengal carried the spirit of figures such as Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Swami Vivekananda, JC Bose, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and SP Mukherjee, so a rosogolla made of it would be “prasad” for him.

Violence in Asansol

The remarks came on a day of violent incidents in Asansol, where the car of sitting BJP MP Babul Supriyo was vandalised and TMC workers clashed with BJP supporters at several places. There were also reports of clashes between TMC supporters and the police.

What happened next

When the 2019 Lok Sabha votes were counted on 23 May 2019, the BJP won 303 of 543 seats nationally and Modi was sworn in for a second term on 30 May 2019.

See also: election news

Originally published on 29 April 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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