Presidential Polls: TMC, BJP claim cross-voting in their favour

In a sharp rebuke, TMC MP and general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said that the BJP was not even sure how many MLAs voted for their candidate in the presidential polls. “The worst thing is that the BJP leaders in Bengal themselves don’t know their strength of MLAs. Some are saying 69, some 70, and others are saying 65. Therefore, they have had to put up their MLAs in a hotel… We didn’t feel the need to keep anyone in hotel rooms out of their own will. The problem is that BJP doesn’t trust their own MLAs,” Banerjee said.

“Resort politics has come to bite the BJP. They are scared that their legislators will leave them, and are hence forcing the MLAs to stay in a hotel. It is funny that BJP MLAs are travelling together in a bus. TMC MLAs and MPs have come to the Vidhan Sabha of their own free will. Ours is a democratic country, we don’t force
anyone,” he added.

On Sunday, BJP had taken its MLAs to a hotel in Newtown in the outskirts of Kolkata. Amid rumours that BJP has sent messages to tribal TMC MLAs to vote for Murmu, a tribal leader from neighbouring Odisha, the TMC leadership also tasked several top leaders to secure the MLAs ahead of the voting.

On Monday, lawmakers of both the parties were seen queuing up in the Assembly since morning to cast their votes as the polling process began at 10 am.

While BJP MLAs cast their vote in the Assembly, BJP MPs voted in Delhi.

According to TMC chief whip Nirmal Ghosh, out of 216 TMC MLAs, 215 cast their votes. “One MLA could not turn up as he has gone to Mecca for Hajj. The MLA had officially informed the Speaker that he won’t be present during the poll,” Ghosh said.

Nineteen of the 23 Lok Sabha MPs of the TMC, along with 13 Rajya Sabha members of the party, exercised their franchise in the Assembly here. “Two of our Lok Sabha MPs – Shatrughan Sinha and CM Jatua – voted in New Delhi,” Ghosh said.

Also, Sisir Adhikari and his son Dibyendu Adhikari, the two MPs who have been maintaining distance from the party leadership since the last assembly polls,voted in the national capital. Notably, of the 77 BJP MLAs, eight have joined the TMC so far.

The BJP currently has 17 Lok Sabha MPs from West Bengal. Of them, Arjun Singh recently switched over to TMC but is yet to resign as a parliamentarian.
Singh was accompanied by TMC MPs as he reached the Assembly to cast his vote.

BJP MLA, Mukul Roy, who had switched over to the TMC last year, said “Mamata Banerjee’s candidate” will win the presidential polls. Congress MP Abu Hasem Khan Chowdhury also cast his vote in the Assembly. His party colleague and Lok Sabha MP, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, along with three other parliamentarians of the Congress voted in New Delhi.

Lone CPI(M) MP Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, too, exercised his franchise in Delhi.

According to the Election Commission, the value of each MP’s vote is 700, while that of the MLAs of West Bengal is 151.

With PTI Inputs