- By Aditya Jha
- Tue, 07 Apr 2026 03:59 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Bengal Polls: With just a few days remaining in the West Bengal Assembly election, the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC has blamed the central government for an alleged shortage of LPG gas cylinders. The ongoing war between Iran and the joint forces of Israel and the US has led to an energy crisis across the world. The BJP-led central government has assured no shortage, further suggesting the residents avoid the rumours. However, the military conflict in West Asia has led to concern among the residents of the poll-bound state.
West Bengal has the second-highest number of beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) with over 1.24 crore LPG connections. Earlier during a public meeting, the villagers confronted the BJP candidate Sabitri Barman in Cooch Behar's Scheduled Caste-reserved Sitalkuchi seat. Barman, while issuing clarification, stated that the residents are aware that the crisis is due to the war.
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"We told them that this problem is happening because of the ongoing war (in West Asia). They are aware of the situation. Our focus in the meeting was on telling them about what benefits they are going to get if the BJP comes to power. The public is positive for the BJP, and they want the party to come to power," Barman was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.
While the ruling party has blamed the BJP for the situation, the CPI(M) has stated that the gas crisis is due to both the central and state governments. CPI(M) candidate Haik Hassan in Cooch Behar district's Natabari constituency claimed that the LPG crisis was a major issue.
The Ujjwala scheme was launched back in May 2016 and provides free LPG connections to women from poor households. Women have played a key role in the rise of Mamata Banerjee and her party in the state. The male-female turnout comparison was 81.41 per cent against 81.74 per cent in 2021 polls.