Election Commission operating under Modi's directions: Mamata Banerjee

Addressing an election rally at Chinsurah, Hooghly district, Banerjee criticised the EC for scheduling the polls over a period of two months, alleging that this decision favoured the saffron party while disregarding the hardships faced by the common people due to excessive heat.

"The Election Commission is a puppet and operates according to Modi's directions. Poll is being held for two-and-half months, have you (poll officials) ever realised the struggle of the common people," Banerjee said.

Accompanying the party's Hooghly nominee actress Rachana Banerjee, the CM accused Modi of violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by allegedly announcing plans to expand the Ayushman Bharat Yojana to cover senior citizens over 70 years of age during the ongoing elections.

"Why are you saying this now when the elections are on? You should have announced this earlier... Modi babu, you are violating the MCC," she said.

Banerjee expressed skepticism about the BJP's ambitious target of achieving 400 seats in the Lok Sabha elections.

"BJP is claiming of winning 400 seats, but people are saying it will not happen this time. We (TMC) will support the INDIA bloc from outside to form a government at the Centre," she said.

Banerjee declared her party's unwavering stance against the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC), and Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Bengal.