"Congratulations Didi": Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman Wish Mamata Banerjee

Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Nirmala Sitharaman today wished West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her spectacular win in the viciously fought state Assembly polls. They also wished other winning leaders of states whose Assembly election results were declared today.

Mr Singh, the Union Defence Minister, was one of the first national leaders of the BJP, the main opposition party in the state, to reach out to the Trinamool Congress founder as results poured in.

Congratulations to the Chief Minister of West Bengal, @MamataOfficial Didi on her party's victory in West Bengal assembly elections. My best wishes to her for her next tenure.

— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) May 2, 2021

Ms Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress was today all set to retain power for the second time at the end of a ruthless electoral process. As vote counting proceeded, the party was poised to win 212 seats -- nearly 50 more than the last time -- leaving the nearest rival, the BJP, far behind at around 78 seats.

Mr Singh's party had invested considerable time and effort in the state over the past year, to uproot the Trinamool regime. A string of cadres and top leaders had changed loyalties from the ruling party to the BJP in this period, creating an impression that the latter was set to form a government this time.

The Union Defence Minister's message to Ms Banerjee today was part of a series of his tweets sent out to opposition parties and their leaders who had won the Assembly polls.

Congratulations to DMK leader, Thiru @mkstalin on his party's victory in Tamil Nadu assembly elections. I extend my best wishes to him.

— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) May 2, 2021

In another tweet, he congratulated Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for the Left Democratic Front's return to power.

Similarly, the Union Finance Minister, Ms Sitharaman, tweeted her best wishes to Ms Banerjee, MK Stalin, whose DMK swept to power in Tamil Nadu, and Kerala's Mr Vijayan.

Good wishes and congratulations @mkstalin on your success in the Assembly election in Tamil Nadu. Wishing you and @arivalayam a good tenure in the service of the people.
திரு. @mkstalin அவர்களுக்கும் திராவிட முன்னேற்றக் கழகத்திற்கும் மனமார்ந்த வாழ்த்துக்கள்

— Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) May 2, 2021