Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said she had refused to field “someone” from her party as the candidate from Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency even though he had demanded it from her.
Banerjee said this at a public meeting with Trinamool Congress candidate Dinesh Trivedi and Bhatpara Assembly seat byelection candidate of the party, Madan Mitra, by her side.
“He [Arjun Singh] wanted to be fielded from Barrackpore this time. But I didn’t make him the candidate. How much should one individual get?” she asked at a meeting in Bhatpara that falls under the Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency.
Banerjee did not need to name the person she was referring to, as everyone knew it was Arjun Singh, who had left Trinamool Congress a day after the party’s candidate list was announced and his name was not in it. Singh, the lawmaker from Bhatpara Assembly constituency joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and was later named the party’s candidate from Barrackpore. She referred to him as a gaddar (traitor), and said “some people are never happy no matter what they get”.
Trinamool Congress has fielded two-time parliamentarian Dinesh Trivedi from the same seat for the third time.
Directing her comment at Arjun Singh, Banerjee further warned that rowdiness won’t be allowed. “No hooliganism, no rowdiness will be allowed in Barrackpore,” she warned.
