<p>West Bengal’s Assembly elections this year has seen some of the most hotly contested seats and most vitriolic campaigns. The BJP made progress and gained a significant vote share in the 2016 Assembly elections and now are looking to form its first-ever government in the state. The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC has been using the outsider plank against the BJP to convince voters that the party doesn’t belong in the state.</p>.<p>Union Home Minister Amit Shah is one of the star campaigners for BJP in the state and is looking forward to May 2, the day of results when both parties' fates will be decided.</p>.<p>Countering the outisder jibes by Mamata, Amit Shah asked if in such a case Tagore and Subhash Chandra Bose too are outsiders in Uttar Pradesh and Telangana.</p>.<p>“If this is the concept, will Rabindranath Tagore be an outsider for Uttar Pradesh? For Telangana and Tamil Nadu, is Subhash Chandra Bose an outsider? Everybody knows the chief minister of Bengal will be from here. We are an all-India party and we are campaigning here," he said in an <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/amit-shah-west-bengal-polls-assembly-elections-bjp-7278294/" target="_blank">interview</a> with <em>The Indian Express</em>.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/election/west-bengal/mamata-demoralised-bjp-ahead-in-over-144-seats-claims-amit-shah-975758.html">Mamata demoralised, BJP ahead in over 144 seats, claims Amit Shah</a></strong></p>.<p>Shah believes that the people of Bengal have already decided on who is an outsider and who is not. He said that the BJP is an all-India party campaigning in Bengal and if that is under question, then the TMC has forgotten what democracy is.</p>.<p>"Modiji is the Prime Minister of this country. Can’t he talk to the people in Bengal? I am the Home Minister of India. Can’t I place my views before the people of Bengal? What kind of a democracy are they (TMC) talking about?</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/election/west-bengal/only-bjp-can-end-infiltration-woes-mamata-banerjee-practises-fake-secularism-says-amit-shah-975475.html">Only BJP can end infiltration woes, Mamata Banerjee practises fake secularism, says Amit Shah</a></strong></p>.<p>There are doubts as to who will be the the chief minister, should the BJP win, as the party has refrained from naming its CM candidate.</p>.<p>Shah too did not answer the looming question but told the publication that the Parliamentary Board would decide.</p>.<p>On being asked about the caste question in the Bengal campaigns and how the party has brought in the caste quotient along with communalism in the polls, the Home Minister believes that Mamata will face defeat by far more than a particular caste.</p>.<p>“When the results come, Didi will realise that everyone has defeated her. Not just one caste, entire Bengal has defeated her, irrespective of gender, irrespective of caste,” he told IE.</p>
<p>West Bengal’s Assembly elections this year has seen some of the most hotly contested seats and most vitriolic campaigns. The BJP made progress and gained a significant vote share in the 2016 Assembly elections and now are looking to form its first-ever government in the state. The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC has been using the outsider plank against the BJP to convince voters that the party doesn’t belong in the state.</p>.<p>Union Home Minister Amit Shah is one of the star campaigners for BJP in the state and is looking forward to May 2, the day of results when both parties' fates will be decided.</p>.<p>Countering the outisder jibes by Mamata, Amit Shah asked if in such a case Tagore and Subhash Chandra Bose too are outsiders in Uttar Pradesh and Telangana.</p>.<p>“If this is the concept, will Rabindranath Tagore be an outsider for Uttar Pradesh? For Telangana and Tamil Nadu, is Subhash Chandra Bose an outsider? Everybody knows the chief minister of Bengal will be from here. We are an all-India party and we are campaigning here," he said in an <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/amit-shah-west-bengal-polls-assembly-elections-bjp-7278294/" target="_blank">interview</a> with <em>The Indian Express</em>.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/election/west-bengal/mamata-demoralised-bjp-ahead-in-over-144-seats-claims-amit-shah-975758.html">Mamata demoralised, BJP ahead in over 144 seats, claims Amit Shah</a></strong></p>.<p>Shah believes that the people of Bengal have already decided on who is an outsider and who is not. He said that the BJP is an all-India party campaigning in Bengal and if that is under question, then the TMC has forgotten what democracy is.</p>.<p>"Modiji is the Prime Minister of this country. Can’t he talk to the people in Bengal? I am the Home Minister of India. Can’t I place my views before the people of Bengal? What kind of a democracy are they (TMC) talking about?</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/election/west-bengal/only-bjp-can-end-infiltration-woes-mamata-banerjee-practises-fake-secularism-says-amit-shah-975475.html">Only BJP can end infiltration woes, Mamata Banerjee practises fake secularism, says Amit Shah</a></strong></p>.<p>There are doubts as to who will be the the chief minister, should the BJP win, as the party has refrained from naming its CM candidate.</p>.<p>Shah too did not answer the looming question but told the publication that the Parliamentary Board would decide.</p>.<p>On being asked about the caste question in the Bengal campaigns and how the party has brought in the caste quotient along with communalism in the polls, the Home Minister believes that Mamata will face defeat by far more than a particular caste.</p>.<p>“When the results come, Didi will realise that everyone has defeated her. Not just one caste, entire Bengal has defeated her, irrespective of gender, irrespective of caste,” he told IE.</p>
