Birbhum Trinamul chief Anubrata Mondal on Sunday courted controversy yet again.

Mondal, speaking at a party meeting in Nalhati, said that a bridge would definitely come up at a village if there was a favourable Assembly election result in 2021.

Mondal’s comment came in the wake of concerns put up by a local Trinamul leader as to why the BJP secured a lead in the area during the last Lok Sabha elections.

“You have to give something to get something. There is nothing one-sided here. You first give me (votes), I will certainly give you (the bridge),” Mondal told booth committee president Kanchan Mal at the public meeting.

In the booth-level meeting, Mal had raised concerns about the years-long demand for a bridge by the residents of Singdohori village in Nalhati block.

In the same meeting, Trinamul sources had said that the party had lagged behind the BJP by 381 votes in last Lok Sabha polls from Singdohori village in Haridaspur gram panchayat.

Mondal asked Mal to explain the number deficit.

“We have a river in our village. We had assured the villagers of a bridge in 2013 but we could not do it. So, the people did not respond well,” said the booth president.

Responding to this statement, Mondal said: “The CPM did nothing in 34 years. The Congress has not done anything in 70 years and the BJP has not done anything since 2014. We will attend to the demand after 2021.”

Local Trinamul leaders have said that there are around 1,300 voters in Singdohori village who need to cross the Tirpita river to do business at the local markets in Nalhati and adjoining areas.

In the same meeting, Mondal asked a local leader not to commit to development work in his village after being informed that the party had been defeated by the BJP by around 500 votes there. “If people don’t vote for us even after our development (work), then do not go for any development,” replied Mondal.