Kolkata: As the ‘Ghar-er meye’ slogan gained momentum in Bhowanipore, CM Mamata Banerjee on Sunday kick-started her 2026 assembly poll campaign by referring to her family’s ties to Bhowanipore and singling out the Election Commission and BJP for her sharpest attacks.Party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee set a record target lead of 60,000 votes from the assembly constituency, which has sent CM Banerjee to the assembly thrice. He repeatedly warned against complacency.CM Banerjee also assured people whose names may be struck off the supplementary voter lists that her party will legally fight to restore their voting rights.Without naming her primary opponent in Bhowanipore, Suvendu Adhikari, she attacked him with “outsider” and “load-shedding” jabs. The “load-shedding” refers to the 2021 Nandigram counting day incident, in which CM Banerjee’s lead turned into a loss after a short power cut.“Be alert from this moment. Do not go home just because the voting has ended. There might be deliberate load-shedding — therefore, a special watch must be kept on the strong rooms. After the victory in Bengal, the next step is to move to Delhi,” the CM said during a closed-door meeting with party workers at Ahindra Mancha.“They cannot provide gas to ordinary people, yet they distribute money during elections. We must act with a cool head. They are trying to heat up the situation by bringing in people from outside. Two boys were even arrested for saying ‘Joy Bangla’. We want peaceful polling,” the CM said, without detailing the arrests.“I want to warn you today. Nothing is in our hands. Over the last three days, 50 of our officers have been removed. If an incident occurs, who will take responsibility? (PM) Modi or the Election Commission? Ultimately, you (the BJP and EC) will have to take the responsibility,” the CM said.Referring to her links with Bhowanipore, CM Banerjee said her mother never wanted them to move out of their Kalighat residence — in ward 73 of the Bhowanipore constituency. While the CM referred to Bhowanipore as “our area”, she said whenever the family thought of changing their residence, her mother, Gayatri Banerjee, stopped them from relocating.The CM said her family lives in Bhowanipore 365 days a year. Referring to the constituency as “mini India” — home to people from various states and communities — Banerjee said that some “outsiders” have reached the area. Abhishek on Sunday asked party workers to secure five more votes from each of the 231 booths where the party has taken leads in past elections. He also asked workers to visit every house at least thrice before the poll.
