"Mamata Banerjee Needs To Be 'Former' Chief Minister": BJP Leader

West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said that to stop 'gundaraj' (hooliganism) in Bengal, Mamata Banerjee needs to be 'former' Chief Minister and people from West Bengal's Nandigram will show how it is done.

"Gundaraj going on here. To finish this, Mamata Banerjee needs to be 'former' (Chief Minister). The people of Nandigram might have got jobs if they had voted for Mamata Banerjee, but they voted against her for the sake of West Bengal. Their spirit needs to be accepted by the people. We (Nandigram) know how to stop them," Suvendu Adhikari said speaking to reporters at West Bengal's Purba Medinipur.

Mr Adhikari said that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) cannot be stopped by holding talk shows or through speeches but with the help of people.

"We will stop them with the help of people. We cannot stop them by shouting at talk shows or giving speeches at public rallies," he said.

Speaking about the rural-urban divide which will be an impediment to removing the TMC from power, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said, "People of Kolkata think Durgapuja is just a festival, we think Durgapuja is a belief and tradition of the Sanantan Hindus. There is a difference. Those who read Bartaman, Ananda Bazar won't help us. They need time to wake up."

Reminding the people that it used to be a popular notion that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) would not be removed from power, Mr Adhikari said that such a notion was proved wrong by people from Nandigram itself.

"At one time we used to think that CPM wouldn't go. They have gone. The epicenter was Nandigram. In the future, they (Mamata Banerjee) will go as well and the way will be shown by the village," the BJP leader said.

Speaking on the INDIA alliance, he said, "This is not Gatbandhan but Khatbandhan. Group 420 has conglomerated to take on India's popular Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The people are with Narendra Modi. So they are irrelevant."

On the Congress and CPI(M) which is in opposition in West Bengal joining hands with the TMC in the INDIA alliance, Mr Adhikari said, "Following the meeting at Patna and Mumbai, the CPM and the Congress has lost all its credibility in Bengal. You have seen in Dhugpuri that the Left and the Congress lost six per cent of its votes."

"People have two paths before them- whether to keep thieves or remove them. If they want to keep them they will vote for Pishi-Bhaipo (aunt-nephew), if they want to remove them they will vote for BJP," he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)