Abhishek Banerjee challenges Amit Shah to contest against him, says will quit politics if defeated

In West Bengal, senior Trinamul Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee has thrown down the gauntlet to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, daring him to contest against him from the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency. Banerjee, often regarded as the second-in-command within the TMC, declared that if Shah emerges victorious, he would gracefully retire from active politics.

Addressing a fervent crowd at an election rally in support of TMC's Mathurapur candidate Bapi Halder, Banerjee laid out three options for Shah to prompt his exit from politics. "If you want Abhishek Banerjee to leave active politics, then I would like you to fulfil any of the three options I am providing you today," Banerjee proclaimed. "Release the state's due of Rs 1,64,000 crore, and I will retire within 24 hours. Alternatively, release the funds of the PM Awas Yojana. Or, the third option: contest against me from Diamond Harbour, defeat me, and I will leave politics forever."

Banerjee's challenge came as a direct response to Shah's earlier statement in Memari, where the BJP leader claimed that TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee desires him to be the next chief minister of West Bengal. Dismissing Shah's aspirations, Abhishek Banerjee retorted, "You wish to make your son the BCCI president. Not all are like you. You have never been part of any agitation. You are a person who was jailed. We do not need to learn any moral values and ideology from you."

The Union home minister’s son, Jai Shah, currently serves as the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Banerjee further critiqued Shah's political motives, asserting, "You are in politics for your benefit. We do not do that. We are in politics to address the cause of the people."