Trinamool Congress to hold large rally at Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata (file photo)
Kolkata:
The Trinamool Congress will kick off its campaign for the Lok Sabha polls with a grand rally at Kolkata’s famous Brigade Parade Ground on Sunday, with party supremo Mamata Banerjee expected to set the tone for the upcoming elections.
Titled ‘Jana Garjan Sabha’, the mega event will feature three platforms, including a cross-ramp, with Mamata Banerjee and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee taking center stage as key speakers.
The overarching theme of the rally revolved around the central government’s alleged withholding of state fiscal dues, a contentious issue that has dominated state politics for the past two years.
In the morning, hundreds of thousands of supporters and numerous neighborhood leaders flocked from different areas to hear the speeches of their leader, affectionately known as Didi.
“After a long time, we are organizing a rally at the Brigade Parade Ground. It will be a historic event. Our party supremo Mamata Banerjee will convey a message and we will convey this message to the West every nook and cranny of Bengal and ensure victory over the BJP in all 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state,” said TMC leader Firhad Hakim.
The TMC’s massive rally at the Brigade Parade Grounds, which was originally established as a military parade ground during the British colonial era, assumes significance as it is the first large rally held by the party at the Brigade Parade Grounds since the Opposition meeting in January 2019. The party’s leaders from 19 countries joined forces with opposition parties in a show of unity.
Despite its deep-rooted grassroots organisation, the TMC’s seats fell from 34 to 22 in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, while the BJP performed well and bagged 18 seats in the state.
Sources within the TMC said there could be major defections from other parties, especially the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has seen eight MLAs and two MLAs defect to the ruling party since the 2021 assembly elections.
Instead of a traditional rally setup, the Trinamool Congress opted for ramps to facilitate closer interaction between leaders and supporters during their speeches. The three main phases are interconnected by ramps designed to enhance contact and connection with the grassroots.
Meanwhile, the BJP has mocked the TMC’s plan, calling it the party’s “farewell rally”.
Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari disparaged TMC leaders as “thugs and corrupt elements” and predicted their “imminent downfall”.
In retaliation, the BJP plans to hold a rally in Sandeshkari, where sexual abuse allegations against TMC leaders have surfaced.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
