"Target is double century": WB BJP President Samik Bhattacharya casts his vote amid phase 2 voting

"Our batsmen have scored a century in the first phase of the elections, now the target is a double century," he said, expressing confidence in the party's performance in the first phase on April 23.

West Bengal BJP President Samik Bhattacharya on Wednesday cast his vote as polling for the second phase of West Bengal Assembly elections is underway across 142 constituencies. Speaking to ANI, Bhattacharya drew a cricket analogy and said, "Our batsmen have scored a century in the first phase of the elections, now the target is a double century".

West Bengal recorded a voter turnout of 78.68% till 3:30 PM on Wednesday amid the ongoing second phase of polling for the assembly elections According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), Purba Bardhaman district topped the charts with the highest voter turnout of 83.11% so far, with Hooghly following with 80.77% turnout.

Nadia district recorded a turnout of 79.79% while Kolkata North and South recorded 78% and 75.38% voter turnout, respectively, during the same period. Additionally, South 24 Paraganas also saw massive participation of people with 76.75% voter turnout. Meanwhile, Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday claimed that the BJP-led NDA will retain power in Assam for the third time and Puducherry, and will be voted to power in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu after the results for the assembly elections for the four states, along with the Union Territory, are announced on May 4.

The top BJP leader also lashed out at the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and DMK in Tamil Nadu and said that the NDA led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "clearly the alternative to inept governments led by the Rahul Gandhi family, Mamata Banerjee family, and Stalin family." "We will, of course, retain Puducherry and Assam, but we will also form governments in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. We'll increase our vote share and have more seats or open our account in Kerala in a bigger way in this election. In the long run, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, with its growing acceptability and public faith and trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is clearly the alternative to the corrupt, inept governments led by the Rahul Gandhi family, Congress Party, or the Mamata Banerjee family, Trinamool Congress, or the Stalin family, DMK. All of these are private limited companies run by these families against a strong, people-driven, worker-driven organisation like the Bharatiya Janta Party and our friends," Goyal told reporters here.

The counting of votes will take place on May 4. (ANI)