E-Paper
Mamata Banerjee asks TMC to hit campaign trail from February 1
A TMC leader said that Banerjee was very optimistic about the success of the Duware Sarkar or government at the doorstep programme that started two months ago.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee has asked top leaders of the party to hit the campaign trail for West Bengal assembly elections 2021 with full steam from February 1 and project the state government's work before the people instead of engaging in mere political rhetoric against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said party leaders, who attended the closed-door meeting at the chief minister’s south Kolkata residence on Friday afternoon.
Banerjee addressed members of the Parliament and some hand-picked ministers and MLAs, considered members of her core team. TMC election strategist Prashant Kishor was present at the meeting which started at 4 pm and continued till 5.30 pm.
“She asked party leaders to adopt a positive attitude and concentrate on core issues. She was not at all concerned about leaders joining the BJP,” a senior TMC leader, who attended the meeting, said on condition of anonymity.
"She took up issues specific to different zones of Bengal and discussed the findings in recent surveys, carried out by the government. She was very optimistic about the success of the Duware Sarkar (government at the doorstep) programme that started two months ago," he added.
The meeting was held hours after former forest minister Rajib Banerjee resigned from the state assembly amid speculations that he would join the BJP.
Must Watch: ‘Don't indulge in all this’: BSF snaps at TMC’s charge of threatening voters
“We have been asked to start a full-fledged campaign from February 1,” Lok Sabha member and party spokesperson Saugata Roy said after the meeting.
Asked about Rajib Banerjee, who was seen carrying a photograph of the chief minister while leaving the assembly house, Roy said, “This is all drama. He has said a lot of things over the past few days. Those who want to leave the party are free to go. The chief minister made it clear long ago. The so-called dissidents may be of interest to the media. We do not discuss them.”
