Bhajanlal Sharma, the chief minister of the BJP-ruled state of Rajasthan, on Friday campaigned for Shankar Ghosh, the sitting MLA and the BJP candidate for the Siliguri Assembly seat.
Sharma is the third chief minister from a BJP-ruled state whom the party has engaged for the election campaign in Bengal. Earlier, the BJP had brought in Yogi Adityanath and Himanta Biswa Sarma from Uttar Pradesh and Assam, respectively.
On Friday, Sharma joined a road show with Ghosh and other BJP leaders in Siliguri. Later, he attended a meeting of “Prabasi Rajasthani (people having roots in Rajasthan and living in Siliguri)".
“My Rajasthani brothers here have made me feel proud. People from our state have been living here for generations, have played a key role in the comprehensive development of the area, and are also into social service,” Sharma said.
“In Rajasthan, the BJP has formed the government, and development is in full swing, right from the drinking water supply, power, industrial investments, and employment generation. This place (Siliguri) is your ‘karmabhumi’ (workplace), you should also think about it,” Sharma told the gathering.
Later, talking to newspersons, he accused the Trinamool Congress of corruption and appeasement.
“The spontaneous response of people, which I witnessed in the road show and the meeting, shows that people in Bengal have made up their minds and want development to start in Bengal. They want to get rid of corruption and appeasement politics. This time, the BJP will form the government here,” said Sharma.
The Rajasthan chief minister also posted on social media, mentioning his visit.
“I participated in a grand road show today in support of BJP candidate Shankar Ghosh in the Siliguri Assembly constituency of West Bengal. The unwavering trust and immense affection shown by the local people reflect their desire to break free from appeasement politics and corruption. The massive turnout on the streets of Siliguri clearly signals that a wave of change is sweeping across Bengal,” Sharma wrote on his official X handle.