BJP Opposes TMC Constructing Bridge to Connect Famous “Gangasagar Mela” Venue with All-Weather Road

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Jan 5: The opposition BJP in West Bengal has taken strong objections to the chief minister Mamata Banerjee laying the foundation stone of the proposed “Gangasagar Setu” to provide all-weather road connectivity to Sagar island where the annual Gangasagar Mela, the world’s second-largest human congregation after the Kumbh mela, is held.

The leader of the opposition in Bengal assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Monday claimed that the Mamata Banerjee government had bypassed rules to announce the construction in haste ahead of this year’s elections in the state. Adhikari claimed the waterbody was under national waterways as it’s a passage for heavy vessels. “You cannot build a bridge without the Centre’s No Objection Certificate. I have spoken to the central ministers, and they have confirmed that the West Bengal government has not taken any permission for constructions,” Adhikari claimed.

“Gangasagar Setu,” the foundation of which was laid by Ms Banerjee on Monday morning, has become the latest political flashpoint between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP in Bengal ahead of the State Assembly elections due in a couple of months. Ms Banerjee laid the foundation stone for a nearly 5-km-long bridge over the Muriganga river to connect Sagar Island, where the annual Gangasagar Mela is held.

The Rs 1,670-crore bridge, named the ‘Gangasagar Setu’, will provide all-weather road connectivity to Sagar Island, located at the confluence of the Hooghly river and the Bay of Bengal. The bridge is expected to be completed within two years, officials said. At present, Sagar Island is accessible only by ferry services, which often become bottlenecks during the annual Gangasagar Mela due to heavy pilgrim inflow and tidal conditions.

Lakhs of pilgrims from across the country visit the island in the South 24 Parganas district every year to take a dip at the confluence and offer prayers at the Kapil Muni temple on Makar Sankranti on January 14. At the programme, documents were ceremonially exchanged between the West Bengal government and Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T), which has been awarded the contract for the construction, in the presence of the Chief Minister.

Mr Adhikari claimed no tender was floated for the construction of the Gangasagar bridge. “How can she directly award the construction to L&T without proper tendering. This bridge is a lie, we will build a bridge like the one in Rameshwaram for the people,” Adhikari added.

Meanwhile, in Tamil Nadu, another state going to the polls in the current year, the BJP was aiming to consolidate opposition forces in a state where it has always struggled to make a mark in. The party is learnt to be seriously exploring an alliance with actor-politician Vijay’s TVK, sources have said.

Addressing a core committee meeting during his visit to the state, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also urged the party to focus on winning and not just putting up a fight in the Assembly elections later this year. This is significant because the party won only four of the state’s 234 seats in 2021 and could not open its account in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Sources said the BJP leader also deliberately did not meet Edappadi K Palaniswami, also known as EPS, the head of ally AIADMK, to send out the message that the NDA must bring together all anti-DMK forces. The sources said the BJP was actively exploring the possibility of a tie-up with Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, which has been positioning itself as an alternative political force in Tamil Nadu. The saffron party’s efforts have gathered pace after the TVK said last week that it would be natural allies with the Congress because of the parties’ focus on secularism.

“The Congress and TVK are natural allies in terms of secularism and their stand against communalism. In that sense, we have always been natural partners. Rahul Gandhi and our leader are also friends. There are many possibilities for the Congress and TVK to ally. However, as I see it, the personal interests, possibly business or financial interests, of the current Tamil Nadu Congress committee leadership, may be preventing them from initiating a dialogue with TVK,” party spokesperson Felix Gerard had said.

This push for a possible alliance with the TVK ties into what Shah told party leaders at a core committee on Sunday. Seeking individual feedback from every leader on ground sentiment and alliance possibilities, the Home minister signalled that decisions would be driven by electoral math and not sentiment.

In the same vein, he also said the electoral battle should be between the NDA and the DMK and not a personality-driven contest. To speed up preparations, Shah asked leaders to begin early candidate identification and work towards a grand alliance framework by Pongal, which is on January 14.

The decision that Shah would not meet EPS, sources said, was also taken to send out the message that the BJP wanted to move fast and leave no space unoccupied in Tamil Nadu’s opposition politics. “The idea was to emphasise that the NDA cannot be limited by one party or one leader, and must bring together all anti-DMK forces – from AMMK and PMK to leaders disgruntled within the AIADMK ecosystem,” said a BJP leader.