Handful of TMC leaders turned up at Mamata Banerjee's dharna in Kolkata: Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari

Banerjee held a day-long dharna in central Kolkata to protest against alleged post-poll attacks on party workers and leaders following the BJP's victory in the assembly elections.

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday asserted that a handful of TMC leaders turned up at party supremo Mamata Banerjee’s dharna in Kolkata over alleged post-poll attacks on its workers.

Adhikari was speaking to reporters after offering prayers at the famed Tarakeswar temple in Hooghly district.

"Only three MPs and six MLAs turned up at Mamata Banerjee's protest dharna… The TMC's condition is now pathetic. It resembles that of Falta,” he said.

Banerjee on Tuesday held a day-long dharna in central Kolkata to protest against alleged post-poll attacks on party workers and leaders following the BJP's victory in the assembly elections.

The BJP had swept the repoll to the Falta assembly seat with a victory margin of more than one lakh votes in the constituency long seen as a citadel of the TMC, whose nominee Jahangir Khan slipped to fourth place and forfeited his deposit.

Khan, who cultivated a larger-than-life "Pushpa"-style persona during the campaign and emerged as one of the most recognisable faces of the contest, dramatically announced two days before polling that he was stepping aside "for Falta's interest".

Adhikari performed puja at the Shiva temple in Tarakeswar, and said the shrine is significant in Bengal's political history.

“Hindutva is alive and thriving now in Bengal. I was able to apply tilak and offer prayers here," the chief minister asserted.

"Some steps related to Tarakeswar are being planned. However, I will not reveal anything before the cabinet meeting tomorrow," Adhikari said.

Adhikari said an additional district magistrate would be appointed administrator to oversee the temple's functioning, as there is currently no trustee board in place.

The CM also said elaborate arrangements were being made ahead of the annual ‘Shravan Mela’, which draws lakhs of devotees to the shrine every year.