Abhishek launches ‘Tafashilir Sanglap’ campaign in 84 SC/ST-dominated seats

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Monday launched a special awareness campaign named “Tafashilir Sanglap” to reach out to people belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) across Bengal. At a party meeting held at Nazrul Mancha, Banerjee met mainly with ‘Tafashili’ leaders and workers and announced the outreach.

The campaign initiative is focused on 84 Assembly constituencies with a high Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe population.

At the meeting, Banerjee pointed out how the BJP has allegedly brought atrocities upon marginalised sections of society. “Coincidentally, today is the day when Baba Saheb Ambedkar stood before the gates of Kalaram Temple to protest against untouchability and demand equal rights. After ninety-six years, today BJP invalidates Ambedkar.

They want to amend the Constitution in their favour. Your work would be to make our SC/ST brothers and sisters know the true face of BJP,” he said.

The plan is to reach out to people in these sections through special campaign vehicles deployed in every targeted seat. Each vehicle will carry a small team of workers and a volunteer who will coordinate with the leadership. The teams are tasked with visiting homes and speaking directly with voters about government schemes and development initiatives. Along with a short video explainer to be broadcast through the campaign vehicles, the party will distribute detailed booklets highlighting the work done by the Bengal government for SC and ST communities. The video and booklet will also focus on alleged crimes committed against marginalised communities in BJP-ruled states. Highlighting the TMC’s record, he pointed to increased benefits under schemes like Lakshmi Bhandar for SC and ST women, saying the state government has always stood by them, whereas the Union government never fulfilled its “false promises”.

Citing data from the National Crime Records Bureau, he referred to rising crime rates against marginalised communities in BJP-ruled states. “Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have secured gold, silver and bronze respectively in incidents of crime against Scheduled Castes,” he said.

Banerjee also urged party cadres to intensify their efforts at the booth level, warning against complacency and encouraging them to aim for higher vote margins.

In a pointed critique of a BJP roadshow, he dismissed it as irrelevant to Bengal’s politics and reiterated his goal of reducing the party’s tally to below fifty seats in the upcoming polls.