There is rarely a dull moment in West Bengal politics and political parties both in the government and the Opposition always seem to be in election mode. As the ruling Trinamool Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front and the Congress brace for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the parties are eager to test the political waters in the panchayat polls.
At a time when the State was expecting an announcement for panchayat polls, the Trinamool leadership launched a two-month-long outreach programme across the north and south of West Bengal. The initiative, ‘Trinamooler Nabo Jowar’ (Trinamool’s new wave), led by the party general secretary and its second-most important leader, Abhishek Banerjee, is not only aimed at reaching out to the masses but also an attempt to seek the opinion of the electorate on deciding the party’s candidates for the panchayat polls. Mr. Banerjee, who began the campaign on Tuesday from Coochbehar in north Bengal, will be on the road for the next two months addressing rallies and meeting party workers, something which his party is describing as an ‘innovative’ step.
In January, West Bengal’s ruling party had launched another outreach programme ‘Didir Suraksha Kawach’ (Didi Protection Shield)’ where ‘Didir Doots’ (Didi’s emissaries) were expected to reach out to the people. The back-to-back outreach initiatives of the Trinamool Congress are a reflection of the party’s desperation to hold on to its political dominance in the State.
