'Accept the challenge': Derek O’Brien tells Modi to step down if TMC retains Bengal

Trinamool Congress's Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien on Wednesday expressed confidence that his party will come back to power in the state after the assembly elections and challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resign when the results come. In a video shared on microblogging site X, O'Brien accused the prime minister of making exaggerated political claims and urged him to "accept the challenge" instead of indulging in "big talk." "Narendra, you had announced that you are the candidate on all 294 seats in West Bengal. Leave out the big talk and accept this challenge..." O'Brien wrote. He asserted that if the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC wins the state, the prime minister should step down from his post. "When Mamata Banerjee and TMC win West Bengal, you will resign from your post as the prime minister," he said.

The remarks come amidst an intensifying political contest in West Bengal, where the ruling TMC and the Bharatiya Janata Party are engaged in a high-stakes electoral battle. Polling is taking place in 142 constituencies in the second and final phase of the assembly elections on Wednesday, amid unprecedented security arrangements and a high-intensity contest that could decide whether the ruling TMC retains its dominance over the southern districts or the BJP can force open the gates of power in the state.