Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], April 6 (ANI): West Bengal minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate from Shyampukur, Shashi Panja, on Monday expressed gratitude to party leadership for renominating her from the constituency, calling it a 'matter of prestige and responsibility' as she seeks a fourth consecutive term.

Speaking to reporters, Panja thanked TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee and party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee for reposing faith in her.

'I am grateful to my to the AITC Chairperson, Mamata Banerjee, for having entrusted me with the same Vidhan Sabha constituency which I used to represent. It's a big honour and matter of prestige, and also the trust which has been bestowed on me by Abhishek Banerjee, the All India General Secretary. This is a huge responsibility that I carry. I am representing my own constituency for the fourth time. We are fighting again against a lot of falsity and lots of misleading and misdirections which the Bharatiya Janata Party is doing,' she added.

Launching a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Panja accused it of spreading 'misleading narratives' in West Bengal. She asserted that people in the state have already made up their minds in favour of Mamata Banerjee, citing achievements in women's empowerment, economic development and welfare measures.

'They are misleading the people of Bengal. People of Bengal have made up their minds for Mamata Banerjee. People of Bengal experienced women's empowerment, they experience economic empowerment, and they experience the development which is happening. It is for them, cutting across all political lines. And they also know that the narrative which is played out by the Bharatiya Janata Party was false in 2021, and they are not going to be carried away by all that. There is only one answer to this: the Bharatiya Janata Party is afraid of us. People are not afraid of us. The fear is in the hearts and minds of the BJP,' she added.

The upcoming elections are expected to witness a high-voltage contest between the TMC and BJP, with multiple parties vying for influence in the state.

Polling for the 294-member Assembly in West Bengal will take place in two phases on April 23 and April 29, while counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.

In the last assembly election in the state, held in eight phases in 2021, the Trinamool Congress recorded a landslide victory with 213 seats amid an intense contest with the BJP, which jumped to 77 seats. Congress and Left Front drew a blank in the last state polls. (ANI)