Not every kind word for Gujarat’s BJP comes from within its own ranks. This one came from Yusuf Pathan, a former cricketer turned Trinamool Congress MP from Baharampur in West Bengal, and the last person you might expect to be singing the BJP’s praises.
He credited the party’s success in Gujarat squarely to its work and governance, and saw in it a mirror of what the TMC has built back home in Bengal, claimed a news report by the Indian Express.
The TMC MP was quoted as saying, “I have said that the TMC will remain strong in Bengal for four or five decades and no one can change that; a similar claim is often made about the BJP in Gujarat. That is a fact. Ultimately the electoral performance depends on public trust, grassroots engagement and development work that is visible to the people.”
Pathan knows Gujarat well since he lives there. A resident of Vadodara, he had just stepped out of a polling booth in the Tandalja area, having voted in the Vadodara Municipal Corporation polls when he stopped to speak to the waiting press.
The parallel he drew was crisp. He said the TMC had built a strong base in Bengal through its cadre and grassroots presence, while the BJP commands similar trust in Gujarat through its governance record, reports mentioned. Political outcomes, he added, follow how people read development and government performance.
He went further on the question of longevity. He had already said publicly that the TMC would remain strong in Bengal for four or five decades and no one could change that. He noted that a similar claim is routinely made about the BJP in Gujarat. He called both assessments a fact.
What keeps a party in power, in his view, comes down to two things. How effectively it works for people, and how voters respond to that work at the ballot box.
He asked people to vote with development in mind. Voters, he said, back those who stay connected with them, hear their concerns, and visibly work to improve daily life.
On infrastructure projects in Gujarat, he acknowledged complaints about flooding and disruption. Yet he noted that people still support parties they believe are delivering results.
He also brushed aside any focus on “magic numbers” in voter turnout, saying percentage figures tend to stay broadly consistent across elections.
Also Read: The Woman in White Saree versus The Man in Gold Suit And the Battle for Bengal https://www.vibesofindia.com/modi-versus-mamata-who-will-win-bengal/
