War of words intensified between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee with latter asking the “mothers and sisters of Bengal” to “unite” against a prejudiced Election Commission and Central forces which are “working in favour of the BJP.”

Referring to Banerjee’s repeated refrains of a bias EC and faltering Muslim votes, Modi on Tuesday said that, “it was the same Election Commission which earned praise from Mamata Didi for its role in earlier elections that brought her to power in Bengal, it was the same central forces that ensured free and fare election when she threw out the Left Front Government and it was the same electronic voting machines (EVMs) that functioned during her victory and now the same ECI, the same CPF and the same EVMs have become a villain for her… she is wasting no opportunity to attack the Commission and central forces.”

The Prime Minister was addressing an election rally at Coochbehar in North Bengal.

Saying that the Chief Minister’s repeated appeal to the Muslims not to let their votes divided only meant that she was expecting a defeat in the elections. He said, “Didi, recently you said all Muslims should unite so that their votes do not get divided. You are saying this because you know that even the Muslims have deserted you… they have also turned away their face from you… Didi you are losing in the elections.”

By roundly accepting the elections the Chief Minister had hit a same-side goal he said. “Didi, people say you play football a lot. In football there is a same side goal... You have scored a self-goal in the field of elections. You yourself have accepted the truth.. . now your khela is shesh (your game is over)”

The minority population comprising about 30 percent of the total votes has been the electoral mainstay of Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress ever since she came to power dislodging the Left Front in 2011.

However, the Chief Minister this time round the Chief Minister has  been receiving a tough challenge from Abbasuddin Siddique a Muslim cleric from Furfura Sharief the largest congregation of the Bengali Muslims in Bengal. Siddique’s newly launched party Indian Secular Front has not only won the support of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen or AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi but also he has stitched up an alliance with the Left-Congress detente. Banerjee has been calling the Left-Congress-ISF alliance “more dangerous than a cobra,” which is “funded by the BJP.”

Saying that the way the Chief Minister attacked the ECI and the way she would play the minority card “… had we been in your place and had we asked the Hindus so openly to vote for us then then we would have received 10 notices from the EC.”

The Chief Minister who was holding a rally at Kalchini in North Bengal said that it was at at the behest of the BJP leadership and the complacency of the ECI that TMC candidates were being attacked all over Bengal.

We have already seen 7-8 murders in the State in which four of our men have been killed,” she said adding “the EC is doing nothing about this.”

“They have seriously injured on our Scheduled Caste candidate Sujata, while she was visiting a booth to ensure that there is no rigging by the BJP men. They also attacked our Khanakul candidate Najbul Karim.

The CPF is acting on their advice and stopping our MLA and candidate Shaukat Molla from entering a booth in Canning East constituency… We have numerous such instances to show how our candidates are being attacked and the central forces and ECI is doing nothing,”

Banerjee said asking the “mothers and sisters” to “unite against the arbitrary actions of the central forces… resist them if they come to stop you from voting.”

Attacking Banerjee for trying to incite people against the central forces that are trying to ensure free and fare elections the BJP leadership said “it is due to her provocations TMC women are coming out of their houses and harassing the central forces …we will want the ECI to censure Mamata Banerjee and stop her from inciting people.”