Kolkata, Mar 17 (UNI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday visited Furfura Sharif, a holy place for Bengali Muslims in Hooghly district, to attend an iftar party.

This is Banerjee's first visit to Furfura Sharif since 2016.

"I am here to join the iftar party to celebrate the holy Ramadan month," the CM said, coming down heavily on the opposition for describing her visit as a strategy to appease the Muslim vote bank ahead of next year's assembly election.

Furfura Sharif at Jangipara under the Srirampur sub-division is a revered site for Bengali Muslims and also holds significant religious and political importance in the state.

"Nobody says anything when I go to Kashi Viswanath, Puskar, attend Dol, to Mahavir temple and other religious places," Banerjee, also the state's ruling Trinamool Congress supremo, said in the presence of scores of Pirzadas of Furfura Sharif.

Banerjee said Bengal is a place for all faiths and she visits churches, gurdwaras, mosques, temples and sacred places.

She also held a meeting with the Pirzadas in Musafir Khana.

Former state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chwodhury, Banerjee's bitter critic, alleged the Chief Minister visited Furfura Sharif to seek Muslim votes for the 2026 assembly poll. UNI PC SSP