Trinamool asks booth prezs to hold small-scale meetings
KOLKATA: Ahead of the impending Panchayat and Parliamentary elections, Trinamool Congress (TMC) has asked all its booth presidents to remain united and lay emphasis on organising small-scale meetings in block levels with 10 to 15 families, convincing them to vote for their rights and not get swayed by any political propaganda.
Even though the State Election Commission (SEC) has not yet announced the poll dates for the rural elections, TMC is, apparently, leaving no stones unturned as it prepares to sweep the Panchayat elections this year and the Lok Sabha Polls in 2024.
The party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee has been holding several interactions with booth-level workers in a bid to find out the fault lines which may later pose a risk of depletion in votes.
It is also learnt that Abhishek is being approached by many people in rural areas who are under the impression that the state government is holding on to the MGNREGA funds. This, the party believes needs to be corrected
Sources said Banerjee has emphasised organising smallscale meetings at the booth level, comprising 10 to 15 families and explaining to them not to repeat the “mistakes” of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls where several gram panchayats voted for BJP but are now allegedly suffering from a lack of wages for rural work.
It is also learnt that Abhishek is being approached by many people in rural areas who are under the impression that the state government is holding on to the MGNREGA funds. This, the party believes needs to be corrected else it can damage its share of votes.
Abhishek has instructed that the people need to be explained in these small-scale meetings how they should be voting for their rights and not get swayed away by any political propaganda of the Opposition parties.
“We want panchayat candidates who will fight against BJP for people’s rights. Also, no one should be impatient and misbehave with people while explaining to them,” he warned.
It is learnt that Banerjee has been given a free hand by the party in dealing with inner schisms at the booth level which have led to losses for the party in the previous elections.
Addressing the problem in a recent booth workers meeting, Abhishek is said to have clarified that there can be dissent among booth workers regarding the choice of candidates fielded by the party but that should not amount to sabotaging the campaign of the chosen candidate.
“For TMC, our booth presidents are crucial assets. It is from booth levels that the roots of the party are strengthened. No upper-level leaders can do what booth workers can achieve with their efforts and dedication. In the coming days, booth presidents will have to play a big role and the preparations for which must begin now,” he said.
He added that if the booth committees led by their presidents determine that the party’s selected candidate will win, then no one can stop that, not even block-level leaders.