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Kolkata: Launching a blistering attack on the BJP after the NDA’s emphatic win in the vice-presidential election, Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday alleged that the saffron camp spent Rs 15-Rs 20 crore per MP to “buy votes” and accused it of using money power to undermine democracy.

Banerjee, who also leads the TMC’s Parliamentary Party in the Lok Sabha, claimed BJP leaders “came with sacks of money” to influence the outcome of Tuesday’s poll.

Maharashtra Governor and NDA nominee C P Radhakrishnan was elected the 15th Vice President, bagging 452 votes against Opposition nominee and former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy’s 300 votes, amid indications of cross-voting in his favour.

Announcing the result of the election, Rajya Sabha Secretary General and Returning Officer P C Mody said 767 MPs out of 781 cast their votes with a total turnout of 98.2 per cent. He said 752 ballots were valid and 15 were invalid, bringing down the required majority of first preference votes to 377.

“After speaking to a few people, I can say the BJP spent Rs 15-20 crore on each person to buy votes. People elected as representatives are selling the people’s trust and emotions. Representatives can be bought, but not the people,” Banerjee told reporters at Kolkata airport, shortly after flying in from Delhi.

He asserted that all 41 TMC MPs – 28 from the Lok Sabha and 13 from the Rajya Sabha – had voted for Reddy.

“Despite being unwell, Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Saugata Roy came and voted,” he said.

Banerjee questioned how the NDA’s tally overshot projections while the INDIA bloc’s count fell short despite Congress leader Jairam Ramesh earlier claiming that 315 MPs had pledged support for Reddy.

“Since this was a secret ballot, it’s difficult to say whether there was cross-voting or whether Opposition members’ votes were discarded. Even if I accept cross-voting, there are certain parties like AAP where a woman MP openly supports the BJP and speaks against Arvind Kejriwal. There are 2-4 such MPs,” he alleged, hinting at betrayal within the Opposition ranks.

Drawing a parallel with past episodes, Banerjee accused the BJP of repeatedly deploying money to tilt the scales.

“In the 2021 Bengal assembly polls, they tried to flood the state with cash and failed. In 2024, they tried to buy polling agents, paying Rs 5,000 to some and Rs 10,000 to others. But the people of Bengal showed them that leaders can be bought, not the people. The same script they repeated in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, where governments collapsed after MLAs were poached,” he said.

The BJP, however, hit back sharply.

State BJP president and Rajya Sabha MP Shamik Bhattacharya dismissed Banerjee’s allegations as “baseless” and said the results reflected Opposition disunity.

“I do not wish to dignify his comments with a response. But this Vice-Presidential election has clearly shown that the NDA is united, while the opposition is in disarray,” he said.

The TMC MP also raised broader issues, accusing the Centre of double standards on the Supreme Court-mandated summary revision of electoral rolls (SIR).

“This is the same voter list on which Prime Minister Modi was elected in 2024. If that list is invalid, then the PM, his cabinet, and the Lok Sabha stand invalid. In that case, dissolve Parliament and conduct an SIR across the country. We will support it,” he said.

On other contentious issues of citizenship under CAA, Banerjee charged the BJP with weaponising laws for political gain.

“You introduced CAA, promising citizenship. How many people have you actually given citizenship to? Demonetization was to benefit your industrialist friends, not to eliminate black money. The farm bills forced 700 farmers to commit suicide. In Manipur, the state has been burning for over two years, yet the PM chose to visit only now,” he said.

Banerjee also touched upon the situation in Nepal, remarking that while TMC supports peace and stability, it was up to the Union government to take a position.

“Whatever stance the Centre takes, we will stand by it. On matters of national security, sovereignty and borders, we will always support the nation,” he added.