published by, Kavya Mishra
Last Update: May 10, 2023, 23:36 IST
TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee is on a public relations campaign in West Bengal from April 25. (File photo/ANI)
TMC’s tally dropped from 34 to 22 in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, and opposition BJP’s tally from two to 18 in the state
Senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday aimed to win all panchayat seats in Birbhum district, in response to the BJP’s “vendetta politics” over the withholding of funds for the state under the MGNREGA scheme.
The Trinamool Congress currently controls all Zilla Parishads and most of the Gram Panchayats in the state.
Banerjee’s remarks drew a sharp response from the BJP, which said the people of Birbhum would reject “TMC’s politics of terror and vendetta”.
“They (BJP) started the campaign for the Lok Sabha elections in Birbhum with much fanfare. But what happened? He lost both the Lok Sabha seats in Birbhum. We achieved 10 out of 11 goals in 2021 (by winning 10 out of 11 assembly seats). We had lost one then, but in the coming elections, we have to ensure that we win all the 11 panchayat seats,” Banerjee said.
The TMC national general secretary, who is considered No. 2 in the party, was addressing a rally at Mohammad Bazar in the district as part of the ‘Trinamool-Eh Nabjowar’ (New Wave in Trinamool) public relations campaign.
Banerjee said a victory in Birbhum would not only be an answer to the BJP’s stepmotherly attitude towards West Bengal, but would also send a message that no amount of intimidation by the CBI-ED can stop the fight for people’s rights.
“We have to show these outsiders again what the people of Bengal are capable of. We showed them in 2021. They have put Anubrata Mandal in jail. They can do that with whomever they want. But they have to release the funds which belong to our people. No threat from ED-CBI will stop our fight for the people.”
TMC’s Birbhum district president Anubrata Mandal was arrested by the CBI in August last year in a cattle smuggling case. The ED later arrested him after questioning him in a state jail. His daughter was recently arrested. Both are currently lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
“People will have to teach a lesson to the BJP by ensuring that we retain the Bolpur and Birbhum Lok Sabha seats by more than 2 lakh votes in the 2024 elections. They should be taught a lesson for doing vendetta politics with the people of Bengal.
Reacting to Banerjee’s remarks, BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said the people of Birbhum would give a befitting reply to TMC’s “terrorist tactics” which Mandal carried out on behalf of the party.
“The kind of terror that TMC and its leader Anubrata Mondal have spread in Birbhum in the last 12 years is known to all. The people of Birbhum will give a befitting reply this time.”
Abhishek’s comment about winning all the panchayat seats in a district is in stark contrast to what he has been advocating over the past few months. He has urged party workers to avoid using strong-arm tactics to win elections and shun all-grab mentality.
His remarks then stemmed from the criticism that the party had drawn from various quarters during the 2018 panchayat elections, which were marred by incidents of widespread violence and alleged rigging.
The following year, the TMC’s tally dropped from 34 to 22 in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, and the opposition BJP’s tally in the state rose from two to 18.
With most of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal consisting of rural and semi-urban areas administered by panchayats, complete control of rural bodies is essential for political parties to dominate rivals in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)