Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 10: Closing the doors for any negotiations for seat-sharing, the Trinamool Congress on Sunday announced its list of contestants in the coming Lok Sabha elections for all the 42 constituencies in West Bengal while launching a scathing attack on the BJP and the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre for depriving the state of all central aids since the TMC retained power in the state in the Assembly elections two years back.
The party also adopted a novel method of announcing its candidates by declaring the list at the party’s first public rally to launch its election campaign and the party chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee parading the specially-erected ramp covering the entire meeting venue at the sprawling Brigade Parade ground in the heart of Kolkata city with the party nominees to “introduce” them to the voters.
While addressing the “Jon Gorjan Sabha,” (People’s Roar Rally), Ms Banerjee also consoled those who the party was forced to drop from the list of nominations. “We will accommodate those who could not get tickets either in the Assembly elections or with party posts,” she said. Ms Banerjee said the Trinamool Congress would also field candidates in Assam and Meghalaya, and was also in talks with Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav for fielding a candidate in Uttar Pradesh.
The TMC launched a fresh “outsider” attack on the BJP in a new campaign ahead of the national elections and accused their leaders of resorting to “catcall” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The TMC general secretary and the number two in the party hierarchy Abhishek Banerjee targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and dubbed the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as a ‘Bengalis vs outsiders’ contest.
“Earlier, thieves used to go to jail, now they go to BJP, this is Modi’s guarantee. On the other side is a woman, she still lives in a tin roof house and wears a hawai sandal. Who does Bengal want? Modi or Didi? Bengal’s son of the soil or outsiders?” he asked. Ms Banerjee is fondly referred to as Didi by her supporters as well as in the political circles. The Trinamool has often targeted the BJP as an “anti-Bengal” party, especially after it expanded its base in West Bengal after the 2019 elections.
Ms Banerjee set out the pitch for the upcoming Lok Sabha election by raising the issue of denial of funds to the State. Pointing out that the Mr Modi had accused the TMC government of “misappropriating” central funds, Ms Banerjee said how could the state misuse the funds when no funds was allocated to the state at all.
Ms Banerjee also referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign pitch of ‘Modi guarantee.’ “What kind of guarantee is it? That does not have a value,” she said. “The BJP government has reduced the price of cooking gas cylinders by ₹100 before the Lok Sabha polls, and after the elections, [they] will increase the price by ₹1,000,” Ms Banerjee alleged.
She refuted allegations of siphoning of funds meant as wages for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana by saying that the funds had not been released for a couple of years so the question of their misuse did not arise.
The Trinamool Congress chairperson also raised the issue of the resignation of Election Commissioner Arun Goel. “The first thing I will talk about is the resignation of the Election Commissioner. News reports showed how they have tried taking over forceful control of Bengal and he [the Election Commissioner] didn’t accept this. We salute him from this meeting. In the name of the [Election] Commission [of India], they are a blot on the reputation [of the ECI], working at the behest of the BJP government,” Ms Banerjee said.
Mr Abhishek Banerjee raised the pitch against the BJP by calling them “Bahirgata and Bangla birodhi (outsiders and those opposed to Bengal)”. “There are 28 States and eight Union Territories but the funds have been stopped only to Bengal. Is BJP opposed to Bengal or not?” Mr Banerjee asked the gathering. Claiming that there was no warranty in the PM’s guarantee, the TMC leader asked the gathering in whose guarantee they believed — “Modi or Didi’s.”
The BJP had bagged 18 out of 42 seats in Bengal in the previous Lok Sabha polls, the highest it ever won in the eastern state. In the 2021 assembly elections, the BJP emerged as the main opposition party with 77 seats, sidelining the CPM and the Congress.
The Trinamool launched the ‘Jonogoner Gorjon Bangla Birodhider Bisorjon‘ campaign, which translates to ‘people demand the ouster of anti-Bengal forces’ and highlights what the party believes are “anti-Bengal traits” of the BJP. “They consistently demonstrated anti-Bengal attitude, deprived the people of Bengal of the basic necessities of roti, kapda, makaan, and misused power to suppress Bengal’s voice,” they said in an online post.
The list of Trinamool Congress candidates contained certain surprises, including former cricketers Yusuf Pathan from Berhampore and Kirti Azad from the Bardhaman Durgapur Lok Sabha seat. The party retained veteran MPs, including Sudip Banerjee from Kolkata and Saugata Roy from the Dum Dum Lok Sabha seat, and Kalyan Banerjee from Serampore.
While the party dropped Nushrat Jahan from Basirhat (the constituency under which Sandeshkhali falls), it has fielded popular Bengali actors Rachana Banerjee from Hooghly and June Maliah from Medinipur. Also, among those dropped by TMC is Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh, who won the 2019 elections on a BJP ticket but later returned to TMC. Shatrughan Sinha, who had won the byelection at Asansol in 2021, has been fielded from Asansol. The party has also retained Mahua Moitra, who was expelled from the Lok Sabha a couple of months back for the “cash-for-query” issue in which she was accused to have taken money for asking questions against Adani group and Mr Modi.
The Congress leadership reacted to the TMC making “unilateral announcements” of candidates for the Lok Sabha election. “The Indian National Congress has repeatedly declared its desire to have a respectable seat-sharing agreement with the TMC in West Bengal. The Indian National Congress has always maintained that such an agreement has to be finalised through negotiations and not by unilateral announcements. The Indian National Congress has always wanted the INDIA group to fight the BJP together,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said.
Reacting to the candidature of Mr Pathan from Baharampur, State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said it was an attempt to divide the Muslim votes in the constituency. “If Trinamool wanted to honour Yusuf Pathan, they could have asked INDIA alliance to field him from Gujarat or nominate to the Rajya Sabha. The Trinamool wants to divide Muslim vote from Baharampur, which is why they have fielded Yusuf Pathan from here,” Mr Chowdhury said. Mr Pathan’s nomination also comes at a time when speculation is rife that the BJP may field a cricketer from Basirhat Lok Sabha seat.
He also accused the TMC of working hand-in-glove with the BJP. “Mamata Banerjee has proven today that none of the political parties of India should trust a leader like her… Mamata Banerjee is in fear that if she continues to be in the INDIA alliance, PM Modi will be unhappy. By separating herself from the INDIA alliance, she has sent a message to the PMO, don’t be unhappy with me, I am not standing to fight against the BJP,” said Mr Chowdhury.