"We Want TMC's "Natural Death"; Not Presidential Rule": BJP Leader Samik Bhattacharya

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Samik Bhattacharya said his party does not want President's Rule to be imposed in West Bengal, adding that they want "natural death" of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC).

"We don't want Article 356 (President's Rule) in West Bengal. It is Mamata Banerjee and her party who are inviting Article 356. We want the natural death of the TMC and in 2021, this will happen as the people of Bengal desperately want BJP," Bhattacharya said.

Earlier, BJP MP Saumitra Khan has said there is a possibility that Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar may ask Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to prove the majority in the state Assembly.

Over the past several months, Dhankhar and Banerjee have been at odds over several issues. Banerjee had earlier also accused Dhankhar of running a "parallel administration" in the state.

The BJP made deep inroads in West Bengal winning 18 parliamentary seats in the state 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Several TMC leaders have also joined the BJP ahead of the 2021 Assembly polls.

In 2016, the Trinamool Congress had bagged a total of 211 seats in the 294-member state Assembly while BJP could win only three.