Kolkata: Ahead of the Panchayat polls, in a bid to add more strength to the party’s organisational structure in East Midnapore district, Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to soon hold a meeting with booth-level workers where she is expected to scrutinise the readiness for the upcoming polls.
Banerjee is scheduled to visit the district between April 4 and April 6. She is scheduled to reach Digha by air on April 4, and subsequently hold a meeting with her party’s booth-level workers at the Helipad ground.
On April 5, she will address a public meeting. She will also visit the ‘Duare Sarkar’ camps in the district to ensure people are being properly explained the beneficiary schemes introduced by the state government.
Ever since the 2021 Assembly elections, East Midnapore has become a challenge for the TMC which is seeking to correct the “mistake” which resulted in Banerjee losing to Suvendu Adhikari in the Nandigram constituency.
Party insiders are of the opinion that the debacle was a result of the party’s district organisation failing to reach out to the people and explain to them the developmental works carried out by the state government in the district.
Party sources said that the voters in East Midnapore were misled by the BJP which created an anti-incumbency atmosphere in the district while seeking to divide people on the basis of religion.
Adhikari had jumped to the BJP before the elections. TMC insiders said that East Midnapore is the Adhikari family’s fort and support base. His father, Sisir Adhikari holds a substantial amount of political clout in the district. However, this has been affected in the wake of confusion surrounding his loyalty. Although Sisir claims to be in TMC but he has appeared in several BJP rallies.
Suvendu, on the other hand, ensured TMC’s electoral success in the district until he joined BJP. But, his switching of camps has also robbed him of the number of booth workers he had working under him during his time in TMC. Sources said that BJP will struggle to match up to the TMC as far as the number of available booth workers is concerned.
TMC believes that Banerjee’s decision to campaign in East Midnapore can be interpreted as a direct challenge to Suvendu who presently has been holding public meetings in the district.
There are four sub-divisions and 25 Blocks in the East Midnapore district. There are about 223 Gram Panchayats in this district.