Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has congratulated West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her party Trinamool Congress for her resounding victory in the by-polls.  In a message to Mamata Banerjee, the Foreign Minister hoped that Bangladesh's relations with West Bengal would be closer and complementary in the days to come in the interest of mutual welfare and development. Read: Mamata wins crucial Bengal bypoll Dr Momen said the landslide victory in the Bhabanipur constituency for the third consecutive term is a reflection of the people of West Bengal's continued confidence and deep faith in Mamata Banerjee's leadership.  He wished the people of West Bengal all the betterment and prosperity under the able leadership of Mamata Banerjee. The Foreign Minister wished the Chief Minister of West Bengal good health and continued success and greeted her ahead of Durga Puja. Read: Crucial bypoll begins in Bengal to decide Mamata's fate Mamata Banerjee won Bhabanipur Assembly by-polls on Sunday by a record margin of 58,832 votes against Priyanka Tibrewal of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).  This victory makes Banerjee a member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly and will allow her to continue as Chief Minister of West Bengal.  She was unanimously elected Chief Minister by the Trinamool Congress legislature party in May 2021.

A higher court in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata on Wednesday imposed a fine of 5 lakh rupees (7,000 USD) on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her "preplanned move to malign a judge". Justice Kaushik Chanda of Kolkata High Court asked Mamata to deposit the fine before recusing himself from hearing a case filed by the firebrand woman politician challenging the election of her former protege-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari from Nandigram in May's assembly polls. Read:Sheikh Hasina gifts 2,600kg mangoes to PM Modi, Mamata Banerjee The Bengal Chief Minister had asked Justice Chanda to quit the case over "conflict of interest" in the wake of his alleged links with India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Interestingly, Suvendu is BJP's leader of opposition in Bengal. However, before exiting the case, an enraged Chanda came down heavily on Mamata. "Such calculative, psychological and offensive attempt to seek recusal need to be firmly repulsed and a cost of 5 lakh rupees is imposed upon the petitioner." On May 2, Mamata single-handedly pulled off a landslide victory in the assembly election for the third time in a row, bucking anti-incumbency and staving off a massive challenge from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP. Though her Trinamool Congress party swept back to power with a resounding majority, Mamata lost her own seat in Nandigram to BJP's star campaigner Suvendu by a thin margin of 2,000 votes. Read: Mamata Banerjee challenges her rival's election win Last month, Mamata moved the high court to declare Suvendu's election win null and void on the grounds that he indulged in corrupt practices and sought votes on the basis of religion.  "Suvendu Adhikari has indulged in several corrupt practices that have enhanced his winning chances and materially altered Mamata Banerjee's chances of success in the election," her petition read. In her petition, Mamata also alleged discrepancies in the counting of votes, Mamata's lawyer Sanjay Bose had said. Read:Mamata Banerjee sworn in as Bengal CM Though Mamata had conceded defeat to Suvendu in Nandigram -- the potboiler of the assembly election in Bengal -- the Trinamool supremo said on the counting day only that she would challenge the result in a court of law. "I will move the court against Suvendu's win," she had said. West Bengal had witnessed the most high-profile contest in India's recently held state elections. While Mamata harped on being Bengal’s daughter, the BJP asked people to vote for "change and socio-economic development" after nearly 50 years of Communist and Trinamool Congress rule.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has moved a higher court in state capital Kolkata against the win of her former protege-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari from Nandigram in last month's assembly polls. The High Court in Kolkata is slated to hear Mamata's petition on Friday morning, her lawyer has said. On May 2, Mamata single-handedly pulled off a landslide victory in the assembly election for the third time in a row, bucking anti-incumbency and staving off a massive challenge from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Though her Trinamool Congress party swept back to power with a resounding majority, she lost her own seat in Nandigram to BJP's star campaigner Suvendu by a thin margin of some 2,000 votes. Also read: Bengal's ruling party makes Mamata's nephew second-in-command In her plea, Mamata has asked the high court to declare Suvendu's election win null and void on the grounds that he indulged in corrupt practices and sought votes on the basis of religion. "Suvendu Adhikari has indulged in several corrupt practices that have enhanced his winning chances and materially altered Mamata Banerjee's chances of success in the election," her petition read. In her petition, the firebrand woman politician has also alleged discrepancies in the counting of votes, according to Mamata's lawyer Sanjay Bose. "The High Court is likely to hear the plea around 11am on Friday," he told the media. Also read: Mamata Banerjee sworn in as Bengal CM Though Mamata had conceded defeat to Suvendu in Nandigram -- the potboiler of the assembly election in Bengal -- the Trinamool supremo said on the counting day only that she would challenge the result in a court of law. "I will move the court against Suvendu's win," she had said. West Bengal witnessed the most high-profile contest in India's recently held state elections. While Mamata harped on being Bengal’s daughter, the BJP asked people to vote for "change and socio-economic development" after nearly 50 years of Communist and Trinamool Congress rule. Also read: India: Mamata inducts 43 Ministers into her Cabinet

Weird as it may seem, but Mamata Banerjee on Sunday tied the knot with a 29-year-old man named Socialism at a simple ceremony in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Well, the bride is not the 66-year-old firebrand Chief Minister of the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, who decimated the Communists in 2011, but a namesake of hers. The bride's parents named her after the Bengal politician when the latter was with India's Congress party. Mamata, the politician, quit the Congress in 1998 to form her own party, the Trinamool Congress. On the other hand, the groom's father, a local Communist party leader, named his son Socialism as he was born when the erstwhile Soviet Union was on the verge of collapse. "I was in Class X when I understood the significance of my name after my friends started talking about it," Mamata Banerjee, the bride, told the local media. On the Bengal Chief Minister, who recently came back to power for the third time in Bengal, the bride responded, "She is a strong woman. I am very proud to say that." Last month, Mamata scripted history by single handedly pulling off an astounding victory in the assembly election. She not only defied anti-incumbency but also staved off a huge challenge from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling BJP. Bengal witnessed the most high-profile contest in India's recently held state elections. While Mamata harped on being Bengal’s daughter, the BJP asked people to vote for "change and socio-economic development" after 50 years of Communist and Trinamool Congress rule.

In a major jolt to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in West Bengal, a senior leader of the saffron outfit quit on Friday only to return to the eastern state's ruling Trinamool Congress that he co-founded with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in 1998. Mukul Roy, the BJP's first import from Mamata's Trinamool Congress in Bengal, was re-inducted into the regional party, along with son Shubhranshu, in the presence of Mamata at a ceremony in state capital Kolkata. "Mukul has returned home. He was never a traitor like the others. More will come back," Mamata said, welcoming back her former party colleague. Read: Bengal's ruling party makes Mamata's nephew second-in-command Addressing the media at the Trinamool Congress headquarters, 67-year-old Mukul said, "I feel great at seeing my old colleagues, after leaving the BJP. I can't be in the BJP. Mamata is the only leader of Bengal and India."In fact, speculation was rife about Mukul's possible return to the Trinamool Congress after Mamata's nephew and the party's second-in-command Abhishek Banerjee last week visited the politician at the hospital where his wife was undergoing treatment. The very next day, Prime Minister Modi called Mukul up and enquired about his wife's health. Mukul briefly served as India's Railway Minister in 2012, when Mamata's Trinamool Congress was part of then Congress-led ruling United Progressive Alliance government, which was decimated by Modi's BJP two years later. He left the Trinamool Congress and joined the BJP in 2017. Read: India: Mamata inducts 43 Ministers into her Cabinet Mukul's departure from the BJP is a huge setback for the saffron outfit after its humiliating defeat in April-May's assembly polls in West Bengal. Mamata single handedly pulled off an astounding victory in the election, defying anti-incumbency and staving off a huge challenge from the BJP. Though her party swept back to power with a resounding majority of 213 seats in the 292-member assembly, the 66-year-old lost her own seat in Nandigram to her former protege-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari by a thin margin of around 2,000 votes. "This win has saved Bengal, it has saved our culture and tradition," she said on the counting day. Read: Game over: How an injured Mamata won against a fully fit saffron squad The BJP though has made major gains in Bengal, winning some 77 seats. In 2016, the party had just three legislators in the state. However, the Left Front has failed to grab a single seat this time. The Left Front ruled Bengal for 34 years -- from 1977 to 2011. Bengal witnessed the most high-profile contest in India's recently held state elections. While Mamata harped on being Bengal’s daughter, the BJP asked people to vote for "change and socio-economic development" after 50 years of Communist and Trinamool Congress rule. Top BJP leaders, including PM Modi, spearheaded the election campaign in Bengal.  

Indian state of West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress on Saturday elevated Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek to the party's second-highest post, putting an end to speculation over the future role of her heir apparent. Member of Parliament Abhishek Banerjee was made the General Secretary at the regional party's first organisational meet since it swept back to power in the last month's assembly elections in the state. This was announced by the Trinamool Congress in a statement to the media. The 33-year-old youth leader joined politics as a member of the Trinamool Congress in 2011 after the party decimated the Left Front, a coalition of Communist parties, that ruled Bengal for 34 years. This year, Abhishek was instrumental in hiring poll strategist Prashant Kishor. Also read: India: Mamata inducts 43 Ministers into her Cabinet Last month, Mamata scripted history by single handedly pulling off an astounding victory in the assembly election. She not only defied anti-incumbency and staved off a huge challenge from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling BJP. Though her party swept back to power with a resounding majority of 213 seats in the 292-member assembly, the 66-year-old lost her own seat in Nandigram to her former protege-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari by a thin margin of around 2,000 votes. "This is Bangla's win... this is Bengal's win... this is your win. This win has saved Bengal, it has saved the culture and tradition of Bengal," she said, addressing a press meet on the counting day. Also read: Game over: How an injured Mamata won against a fully fit saffron squad Mamata had, however, made it clear in that presser only that she would challenge the result in a court of law. "How come the Election Commission reversed the results in Nandigram after formally announcing it? We will move court." The BJP though has made major gains in Bengal, winning some 77 seats. In 2016, the party had just three legislators in the state. However, the Left Front has failed to grab a single seat this time. The Left Front ruled Bengal for 34 years -- from 1977 to 2011. Bengal witnessed the most high-profile contest in India's recently held state elections. While Mamata harped on being Bengal’s daughter, the BJP asked people to vote for "change and socio-economic development" after 50 years of Communist and Trinamool Congress rule.

The High Court in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata on Wednesday refused to grant interim bail to two high-ranking ministers in the West Bengal government and two other politicians arrested by the country's top federal probe agency in connection with a high-profile cash-for-favours scam. The four politicians -- serving ministers Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee, and former ministers Madan Mitra and Sovan Chatterjee -- were sent to jail on Monday after the High Court, in a late-night order, stayed their bail granted by a special court. They were arrested  by the Central Bureau of Investigation for their alleged role in the Narada tapes scandal. In a related development, the federal probe agency has made Bengal's firebrand woman Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, her law minister Moloy Ghatak and her ruling Trinamool Congress party's parliamentarian Kalyan Banerjee in the Narada bribery case and sought the transfer of the hearing to another state. "A bench of the High Court, led by the acting chief justice, has turned down the bail pleas of all the four politicians as well as the prayer of the federal investigators seeking the remand of the accused for custodial interrogation. The court will hear the case again on Thursday," lawyer Sushanto Roy told UNB over the phone from Kolkata. On Monday, high drama unfolded in Kolkata as Mamata staged a five-hour dharna outside the office of the federal probe agency in protest against the "illegal" arrest of her two senior ministers in the Narada tapes scandal case. She had told the media that the state assembly speaker didn't give his mandatory consent to the arrest of the two Ministers. While Firhad and Subrata are Urban Development and Panchayati Raj Ministers, respectively, Madan is a legislator of Mamata's ruling Trinamool Congress party. Sovan, on the other hand, is Kolkata's former Mayor. He left the Trinamool in 2019 to join India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, but quit the outfit before the assembly polls. The two serving and two former Ministers were arrested barely 10 days after Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar approved the CBI's plea to prosecute the four accused in the Narada tapes scandal. The Governor then claimed that his approval "is more than enough" for the arrest of the accused as he had presided over their swearing-in ceremony. "Governor accorded sanction for prosecution... being the appointing authority of ministers @MamataOfficial under article 164 and thus competent authority," he tweeted on May 9. The Narada scandal was a sting operation carried out by a journalist that caught on tape several ministers and senior officials of the erstwhile Mamata government accepting cash bribes in exchange for doling out unofficial favours to a private firm looking to set up business in Bengal. Earlier this month, Mamata scripted history by single handedly pulling off an astounding victory in the assembly election. She not only defied anti-incumbency and staved off a huge challenge from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling BJP, but also decimated the Left Front. However, the 66-year-old lost her own seat in Nandigram. Bengal witnessed the most high-profile contest in India's recently held state elections. While Mamata harped on being Bengal’s daughter, the BJP asked people to vote for "change and socio-economic development" after 50 years of Communist and Trinamool Congress rule.

If only veteran politician Shamim Osman knew that his famous 'Khela Hobe'(Game on!) speech would turn out to be one of the main slogans of Trinamool Congress in the recently concluded West Bengal elections, he surely would have made a patent for it. Prashant Kishor,  the political strategist considered as the brain behind TMC's landslide victory in the assembly election, explained the significance of the 'Khela Hobe' slogan several times while talking to the Indian media. According to him, 'Khela hobe' delivered a message to the voters that TMC will fight till the very end. "During elections, BJP created such a psychological fear that there is no chance for the other party. Amit Shah comes to Bengal and says that Didi(Mamata Banerjee) is done, she is all alone. This psychological pressure forces the opponents to give up. Hence the 'Game on' slogan.  It means we will fight till the very end," he said in an interview with India Today back in March. An intense matchup did take place, staggered out over eight legs, and Mamata played till the very end, with an injured left foot and won decisively against a fully fit BJP squad, led by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah - who each held over 50 rallies in the state - and propped up by the likes of Yogi Adityanath. BJP has a very clear strategy when it comes to winning elections. They challenge an incumbent government, strengthen their local organisation by poaching politicians from the local parties and through party booth committees and the work of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS), present Narendra Modi as the only leader committed to the state’s interests,  promise a web of  welfare schemes  and  push a very aggressive Hindu nationalist ideology in the state in a bid to polarise and consolidate the Hindu vote. Despite doing it all in Bengal, the saffron camp failed to conquer their final frontier after locking horns with the charismatic Mamata Banerjee. 'Didi', as Banerjee is affectionately known, stood her ground against a BJP machine which had everything, money, muscle power,  the media and some would say even the Election Commission. Shah, the architect behind the BJP's electoral juggernaut witnessed since 2014, was constantly predicting the kind of overwhelming victory that in the end TMC pulled off. The Trinamool Congress ended up winning 48% of the vote and 73% of seats, its best performance ever on both counts. Not bad for a party said to be suffering anti-incumbency! In this piece, we will try to look at the some factors which contributed to the win. Also read: Mamata Banerjee sworn in as Bengal CM Bengali nationalism: From Didi to Banglar Meye Any specific ideological core was more or less absent from Trinamool Congress since its inception.  But they had to resort to something to combat BJP's Hindu nationalism. Thus, they went for Bengali nationalism,  which was probably the most obvious choice. They portrayed themselves as local heroes up against bohiragotos(literally outsiders) and Borgis (Maratha raiders who led a destructive invasion of Bengal in the 18th century). To take matters further, Mamata Banerjee, who was always known as Didi (Sister) and still is by the people of Bengal, was also rebranded as 'Banglar Meye' (Daughter of Bengal). During campaigning, Trinamool launched the slogan — “Bangla nijer meye ke chay (Bengal wants its own daughter)” as a part of this. Talking to UNB, Papia Sen, professor of political science at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said: "Although the rebranding of Mamata Banerjee was not the main reason behind TMC's success, it was certainly an effective tactic against the Hindutva stance of BJP." According to Prof Sen, it "evoked Bengal's natural sentiments for their daughters and added a household touch" to Banerjee. Women Voters According to Papia Sen, the real vote bank for TMC is not Muslims or minorities, but rather women. "Over the years, Mamata has undertaken a series of welfare policies which led to direct flow of cash into the hands of women. In return, the women of West Bengal have always remained loyal to her," she said. TMC ensured regular cash transfers to girls if they do not get married and remain in school. Papia Sen also said that she believes that the women of Bengal were emotionally moved when they saw their chief minister, a strong woman herself, was on the receiving end of "low-level bullying and taunting" by BJP leadership, including PM Narendra Modi. Modi publicly taunted Mamata by saying  “Didi O Didi" in a tone likened to louts and punks by Mahua Moitra, a TMC politician.  BJP’s West Bengal chief Dilip Ghosh also offended traditional Bengali sensibilities when he commented on Mamata's hitched up saree (to accommodate the cast on her injured left foot), asking on national television why she can’t switch to sporting bermuda shorts instead of exposing her legs. Also read: Bucking anti-incumbency, Mamata scores a hat-trick in Bengal The taunting and bullying only moved more women votes towards TMC, according to experts including Papia Sen. Muslim Vote The so-called Muslim vote bank is always a huge factor in West Bengal as the Muslim share of the state's population is more than double the national average. "TMC government funded minority institutions including madrasas and brought it to the mainstream. They have also provided scholarships to the Muslim and Dalit students. All these contributed in Muslims relying on the TMC government yet again," said Papia Sen. "Besides the way BJP blamed TMC for pampering Muslims and pledged to change the status-quo once they come to power, forced Muslim voters across the state to perceive TMC as their only saviour.  For this reason, Muslims who generally vote for Congress or Left, voted for TMC this year which played a major factor behind the election results." "See, Murshidabad and Malda are strongholds of the Congress and Lefts, so generally the left alliance relied on the Muslim vote banks of these two districts. But when the poll results came, it was seen that TMC sweeped these two districts which means that the Muslims were undividedly united behind TMC this time around. This proved to be a huge game changer," added Papia Sen. "Muslims were alarmed by BJP's  promise of a communal citizenship test or National Register of Citizens and reflected it on the ballots," Papia remarked. 'No to BJP' campaign A section of ‘civil society’ came out with a campaign called  "No vote to BJP” at every corner of the state in an attempt to unite all voters against the party. The activists,  more or less consisting of people from Liberal Left  backgrounds, were never huge fans of TMC or Mamata Banerjee in the first place. But despite the 'No Vote to BJP'  campaign not explicitly mentioning which party to vote for, it was perceived as a call on voters to unite behind TMC against a communal BJP. The defensive attitude of the Left-Congress Alliance against this campaign only made this perception stronger. Even  leaders  of the recent farmer protests in Delhi came to West Bengal and participated in this campaign.  The leaders of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha led by Rakesh Tikait and social activist Medha Patkar held rallies in Nandigram, Singur and Kolkata urging people not to vote for the BJP. The prominent names of Bengal’s television and film industry including singer-songwriter Anupam Roy, Anindya Chattopadhyay, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Anirban Bhattacharya and many more came up with a six-minute video song titled ‘Nijerder Motey, Nijeder Gaan’ with a message to the voters emphasising diversity and West Bengal's tradition of non-communal politics, setting it in contrast with BJP's unabashedly communal pitch. Professor Sen has recognised the impact of this campaign behind the landslide victory of TMC. "After 2011, the civil society distanced themselves from Mamata and TMC. But this time, the Civil Society and the Liberal Left were in a united front to stop BJP from coming to power at any cost," Papia Sen said. Welfare schemes The role of all the welfare schemes of TMC government behind their landslide victory has been getting inadequate attention. Mamata's government has adopted a slew of welfare policies tackling every major aspect of life including  food, shelter, education and health in Bengal, with some of the major ones started in the wake of the health and economic crisis due to the ongoing pandemic. Also read: Will work together to overcome Covid crisis: Hasina to Mamata She has schemes targeting women empowerment such as, Rupashree and Kanyashree that support them with grants for education and marriage, allowances for elderly people and social security measures for the struggling farmers and the unemployed youth. According to Professor Sen, "The welfare schemes of Mamata Banerjee are one of the bigger factors if not the biggest driving votes to the Trinamool." "As the BJP rose to prominence in the state threatening Mamata’s position since 2019, she has increased the magnitude and reach of her welfare schemes  to galvanise the support of both the urban and rural poor, which constitutes most  of the state’s voters.  Delivering on these schemes, which have improved the  lives of the poor and middle class have been very crucial behind TMC's success," she added. Mamata for PM in 2024? "Today Bengal saved India. This is not only a victory of the Bengali people,  this is a victory of all India." This is what Mamata Banerjee said in her immediate reaction after TMC's landslide victory. According to many political experts this statement reflected her ambitions of becoming the face of the opposition in the 2024 central election. The way Modi magic and the mighty 'Modi-Amit Shah' duo crumbled upon Mamata's charisma, it won't be a far fetched idea to consider Mamata Banerjee as an important figure in the upcoming 2024 national polls. Besides, Congress's  poor performance in Assam and falling behind DMK in Tamil Nadu and the Left in Kerala mean that Rahul Gandhi cannot be perceived as the main opposition leader at a national level. Professor Sen said regarding this, "Although I am not sure whether she (Mamata) will be the main face of opposition in 2024, as it is related with many factors including a Congress buy-in, I am sure that she will play an instrumental role in uniting the opposition alliance against Modi." "Moreover Mamata is a strong leader who unites people. So personally, I won't be surprised if she ends up being the main threat against the politics of division of BJP," Prof Sen said. She also added that the strong image of Mamata can be effective against the Hindutva narrative of BJP as people can associate her with female goddesses, including Durga. What the result means for Bangladesh While many Bangladeshis expressed their emotions in social media or local tea stalls, celebrating the victory of Mamata Banerjee as their own, some didn’t shy away from identifying her as the main obstacle  of the Teesta River treaty, something which holds great importance to the people of north Bengal in Bangladesh. In short it can be said that there was a huge interest among the Bangladeshis regarding the West Bengal State Elections. UNB talked with Tanvir Habib Jewel, Lecturer at the Department  of International Relations at Bangladesh University of Professionals, on what the election result means for people across the border. When asked about the future of Teesta treaty, he said, "TMC will continue leveraging the sentiment of the West Bengal people to deny Bangladesh the waters of Teesta. Besides considering the fact that the relationship between their State and Central government is at an all time low, I don't see the treaty happening in the near future." Despite a grand reception of Modi in his recent Bangladesh visit, top BJP leadership have not stopped passing demeaning statements about Bangladeshi immigrants. On April 13, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah claimed that Bangladeshis “infiltrate” into India because they don’t get food back home. Further back on April 11, 2019, referring to illegal migrants from Bangladesh as “termites,” Shah said the BJP would throw them out after coming to power in nationwide elections that year. So when asked about what would have happened if BJP won, Jewel said, "A BJP government in West Bengal would have increased the risk of communal violence in the state due to the party's aggressive Hindu Nationalist  stance. The status quo would have created a precarious situation for Bangladesh as the communal tensions would definitely have a spillover effect across the borders." "Besides the  addition of the BJP  government in Bengal along with Assam and Tripua would have surrounded Bangladesh with their ideologies.  This would have encouraged the communal forces within our country and we have seen how violent they can turn out to be," he added. Jewel also believes that BJP would have  tried  their very best to implement the controversial National Register of Citizens and the Citizenship Amendment Act, to "justify their stance on so called illegal immigrants." "They have already deregistered two million people   in Assam. Now of people were delisted in West Bengal there would have been major problems for Bangladesh as a large number of people had migrated to the neighbouring country after 1947 and 1971," he concluded.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has thanked Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen for his recent congratulatory message to her. Mamata hoped that the love and affection between the people of Bangladesh and West Bengal will further be strengthened in the days to come. Acknowledging Dr Momen’s letter with gratitude, Mamata said the people of West Bengal again voted for development, peace, harmony, unity and solidarity and to strengthen the spirit of those core issues. Also read: Will work together to overcome Covid crisis: Hasina to Mamata The Trinamool Congress chief was sworn in as West Bengal Chief Minister for the third straight term on Wednesday after she spearheaded her party to a remarkable victory in the assembly polls. In her return letter to Dr Momen, Mamata said Bangladesh and West Bengal are attached together by deep friendship, brotherhood, common culture and heritage. The Chief Minister expressed the hope that they will be able to take the West Bengal State to a greater height, and said good wishes from Bangladesh will certainly help them in their future journey. On May 5, Dr Momen congratulated Mamata Banerjee for her party Trinamool Congress' historic win in the West Bengal State Assembly elections 2021. Also read: FM Momen greets Mamata; hopeful of resolving outstanding issues "We believe, with your cooperation and commitment, the relations between the two countries will be strengthened further and help resolve the outstanding issues," he mentioned in his congratulatory message.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina congratulated Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee after she was sworn in as the Chief Minister of West Bengal for the third straight term. “The huge victory of Trinamool Congress in the assembly election of 2021 is a reflection of deep-rooted trust of West Bengal people in you,” she said in a message sent to Mamata on Wednesday. Sheikh Hasina, in her message, wished overall development and continued progress of the West Bengal people under the able leadership of Mamata Banerjee. Also read: FM Momen greets Mamata; hopeful of resolving outstanding issues She expected that the relations between Bangladesh and West Bengal will deepen further in the days to come in order to build a prosperous future for the people of two Bengals. “At this critical time of the global Coronavirus pandemic, we’re committed to working together on the basis of friendly regional cooperation aiming to overcome the crisis,” said the Prime Minister. She said India is a genuine friend of Bangladesh. “Particularly, our relations with the people of West Bengal are very close, hearty and everlasting.” Also read: Mamata Banerjee sworn in as Bengal CM Sheikh Hasina recalled with gratitude the contributions of the people and the political leaders of West Bengal to the War of Liberation of Bangladesh as well as the same cultural heritage and lifestyle of both Bengals on the auspicious moment when Mujib Year, the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh’s independence and the 50 years of India-Bangladesh diplomatic relations are being celebrated in 2021. The Prime Minister wished Mamata good health, long life and continued success.