Veteran politician, Bollywood star, and Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Shatrughan Sinha, aged 77, won the Asansol parliamentary constituency in a bypoll in 2022 by a margin of over 3 lakh votes. He is now contesting again on his party’s ticket from the Asansol seat, which will go to polls in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 13. His opponent is senior BJP leader S S Ahluwalia. In an interview with The Indian Express, Shatrughan Sinha discusses various issues including the BJP’s campaign and his own prospects. Here are some excerpts:
Last time, you won the Asansol Lok Sabha seat in a bypoll. How challenging is this election as you contest to retain the seat?
Every election is a serious matter. Last time, with the grace of God and under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee — who appears to be the most powerful, popular, and significant leader in the country — we secured TMC’s first victory in Asansol, with a record margin of over 3 lakh votes. Since then, I have been visiting here regularly, at least twice a month, attending all festivals like Durga Puja, Kali Puja, Chhath Puja, Eid, etc. I have built a strong connection with the constituency, and I hope to surpass our previous victory margin this time.
Your opponent S S Ahluwalia is new here but has 32 years of experience as a parliamentarian. How do you view this?
Initially, they had nominated someone else (Bhojpuri singer and actor Pawan Singh), but he withdrew, or perhaps was compelled to withdraw his nomination. I prefer not to comment on this as it is an internal matter of their party. S S Ahluwalia is a senior and experienced individual whom I have always regarded as a gentleman with a good sense of humor. However, after contesting from Darjeeling previously, he shifted to Bardhaman-Durgapur where he narrowly won in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Now, he has been sent to Asansol at the eleventh hour, pitted against someone who has no corruption allegations against him and has conducted all work with honesty and transparency. Ahluwalia must first explain why he has been changing constituencies for the past 10 years. If the BJP has monetary power (dhan shakti), then Mamata Banerjee possesses people’s power (jan shakti).
What is your assessment of the BJP-led Central government?
I wish they had done more than just shoot-and-scoot. Modi is the only Prime Minister in any democratic nation who has not held a press conference in the last 10 years. Even former US President Donald Trump, during a challenging phase amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, regularly engaged with the media. The Prime Minister constantly shifts the goalposts. There is no discussion on issues like price rise, inflation, unemployment, or farmers’ distress. All his promises have fallen short, and now he is making new ones. He has lost all credibility.
BJP is highlighting issues like Ram Mandir, scrapping of Article 370, and implementation of CAA as achievements. How do you respond to this?
There’s a saying that you can’t fool all the people all the time. Everyone believes in Lord Ram, which is a matter of personal belief and devotion. However, the Prime Minister is using this issue to his advantage, capitalizing on people’s sentiments to garner votes. He accuses others of playing appeasement politics while doing the same himself. He governs the country for convenience. But now, people want answers.
In recent years, corruption allegations, such as the recruitment scam, have been made against the Mamata Banerjee government. How do you address these charges as a sitting MP?
These are currently just allegations, and investigations are ongoing with no proof established yet. However, the BJP remains silent on the biggest corruption issue of all — the electoral bond scam, which was exposed by The Indian Express. This is one of the world’s largest scams, yet BJP leaders and spokespersons remain silent on it. I am not justifying one corruption charge with another, but the BJP must address the elephant in the room first.
What is your reaction to the Sandeshkhali incident?
Many claims were made about Sandeshkhali, but Abhishek Banerjee (TMC national general secretary) has revealed the truth. A sting operation exposed how the BJP used money to fabricate allegations about Sandeshkhali. Strangely, BJP leaders are quiet about the Prajwal Revanna sex abuse case.
BJP’s slogan is ‘Iss baar 400 paar’ (This time, above 400 seats). Can the NDA achieve this?
In the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, the BJP claimed “Iss baar 200 paar” (This time, over 200 seats). However, it was Mamata Banerjee’s TMC that surpassed the 200 mark, while the BJP’s count stopped at 77. Similar assertions were made about the Karnataka and Delhi Assembly elections, but the targets were not met. No matter how hard they try, the BJP and NDA won’t exceed 150-175 seats this time.
