Union minister Sukanta leads motorcycle rally in Sreerampur after TMC MP Kalyan's challenge

Union minister Sukanta Majumdar on Saturday led a motorcycle rally in Sreerampur in West Bengal's Hooghly district, a day after TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee ''challenged'' him to visit the constituency he represents in the Lok Sabha.

Banerjee and Majumdar engaged in a war of words on Friday over the upcoming Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.

The verbal duel began after Majumdar, a former state BJP president, warned that central forces could be deployed, and ''even firing could take place'' if there was any unrest during the SIR exercise in West Bengal.

The comments drew a sharp reaction from Banerjee, who accused Majumdar of threatening the state's voters.

''That boy who became a minister, please tell him CISF bullets will hit them. Come to Sreerampur if you have the courage. Let's see how you go back home,'' he had said.

Taking up the challenge, Majumdar, the MoS for Education, led the rally, riding a motorcycle himself with BJP workers following him on two-wheelers.

Addressing BJP workers at the end of the rally, Majumdar said the BJP does not believe in the politics of violence.

''But if Kalyan Banerjee wants to play, I ask our workers also to play the game,'' he said.

Majumdar also said it is his responsibility to ensure that if any BJP members are implicated in any criminal case in Sreerampur, they get bail.

Asserting that the BJP will win the 2026 assembly elections in the state, he claimed that the defeat of the TMC is imminent.

Reacting to the statements, Banerjee said, ''It is the BJP that indulges in violence and not us, so he should not talk about violence.'' Exuding confidence that the TMC will win all seven assembly seats within the Sreerampur Lok Sabha constituency, he said that BJP leaders like Majumdar do not matter.

''As long as Modi is there, leaders like Majumdar are there,'' Banerjee said, maintaining that Majumdar's name was not heard of in Bengal politics even a few years back.

He alleged that the SIR exercise was intended to delete the names of genuine TMC voters.

''We will not allow deletion of a single name from the electoral rolls in the name of SIR,'' he said.