Bengal results will be a big surprise: Sarma

KOLKATA: West Bengal will throw up a “big surprise” in this summer’s Lok Sabha elections by giving the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) an impressive seat tally, even up to 22 out of the 42 seats in the state, North-east Democratic Alliance convener Himanta Biswa Sarma said in an interview.

Sarma has been camping for two weeks in the state, where the BJP is trying to make inroads as it battles the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) to broaden its electoral base.

“The behaviour of Mamata Banerjee in the last 48 hours has convinced me that Bengal is headed for a big surprise,” Sarma said in Kolkata, hours before BJP chief Amit Shah held a massive roadshow in the state capital. The roadshow saw clashes between supporters of the two parties). In the seventh and last phase of elections on May 19, voting will be held in nine parliamentary constituencies in the state.