BJP Won’t Cross More Than 125 Seats in LS Polls: Mamata Banerjee

“The federal parties, that is the regional parties, will be the deciding factor after the elections,” she said.

A file photo of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. 

(Photo: Reuters)

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday, 17 January, said the mega Opposition rally being hosted by the Trinamool Congress in Kolkata on 19 January would sound the "death knell" for the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls and regional parties would be the deciding factor.

She also claimed the BJP's seat count in the general election will not cross more than 125. The number of seats that the state parties will win will be much more than the BJP's, she further claimed.

"The federal parties, that is the regional parties, will be the deciding factor after the elections. And the rally will sound the death knell for BJP... Obviously they (BJP) will not cross more than 125 seats," the CM said.

"Every political party has a vision... This will be a grand alliance of people," Banerjee said about the rally.

She visited the Brigade Parade grounds in Kolkata, the venue of the rally, to check the arrangements.

Asked whether the rally would be like the one she held in 1993 against the then ruling Left Front in the West Bengal, Banerjee said, "I was then a leader of the state Youth Congress. But now, there will be various Opposition leaders joining the rally.”

"I don't want to say anything, let them (Opposition leaders) speak on their own. I want to hear them. Everything will be based on consensus," she added.

On BSP supremo Mayawati not attending the rally, she said the party's senior leader Satish Chandra Mishra will be there. "This is a big thing for us."

Senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Abhishek Manu Singhvi will attend the programme, she said, adding that the rally will start from 12 noon.

Chief Ministers Arvind Kejriwal, HD Kumaraswamy, N Chandrababu Naidu, former prime minister HD Devegowda, former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, DMK's MK Stalin, besides dissident BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha are among those likely to attend the mega rally.