BJP supporters celebrate saffron surge in Bengal

Kolkata, May 23 (IANS) Amidst loud 'Jai Shree Ram' cheers, BJP's West Bengal headquarters located in a narrow central Kolkata lane on Thursday buzzed in a celebratory mood as its workers were euphoric over the party's brilliant performance in the state.

As the vote count progressed and gained momentum, the party's impressive show brought out its members on the streets outside their 6, Muralidhar Sen Lane office.

Donning saffron attires or flaunting other party paraphernalia, they were seen smearing 'abeer' (the dry colour used in Holi celebration) and distributing sweets to the passers-by.

At around noon they halted the buses and autos to share their unfathomable joy.

Youth activist Sonu Shah greeted everyone wearing a Modi cut-out mask while others echoed 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'.

An enthusiastic biker gave a 'thumbs-up' and rode away shouting "this is what we needed".

However, senior members alerted the youth activists to stay away from the traffic and let ambulances and all other vehicles pass by.

"In 2014 elections, CPI-M's vote share was close to 30 per cent but now the BJP's poll percentage is nearly 40 per cent, which has brought down the CPI-M's vote share. It shows that Bengal is whole-heartedly voting for development and wanting Narendra Modi as their Prime Minister," Prashant Gupta, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) youth leader, told IANS.

Gupta, who led other workers in cheering, waving party flags, hinted at further 'saffronisation of Bengal'.

"More than a lakh workers will join BJP after the declaration of final results, forgetting all communal differences," he said.

Taking a dig at Trinamool Congress's aunt-nephew duo Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, one of them cheered "Didi bole Jai Shree Ram, Bhaipo bole Jai Shree Ram" (Sister and Nephew also say Jai Shree Ram).

After some time, the workers left the road and celebrated with earthen tea cups, savoured sweets and exchanged greetings among themselves.

When asked about their take on the celebrations and BJP's prospects, Manoj Mandal, a 25-year-old passer-by, said: "As expected, BJP will get around 15-16 seats here and nationally it will cross 300. This victory definitely calls for celebrations."

BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Roopa Ganguly beamed with happiness when she reached the venue.

"I still cannot talk about the prediction of 23 seats but at least Didi's prediction of us getting Rosogolla has been proved wrong," she said.

Ganguly mentioned that Mamata Banerjee who is a "Chief Minister should behave like one".

"Mamata Banerjee was loved by the people of West Bengal. So she became the Chief Minister. She should sit and think why she is losing that love," she added.