Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) will be represented at the concluding rally of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Patna on September 1 by a two-member delegation, as West Bengal Chief Minister and the party’s chairperson, Mamata Banerjee and national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee are unlikely to attend the event.
The party confirmed on Sunday evening that Berhampore MP and former cricketer Yusuf Pathan, along with Lalitesh Tripathi, a prominent TMC face in Uttar Pradesh, will attend the rally on behalf of the party. Both leaders left for Patna from Kolkata airport on Sunday. They told the media that the issue is of paramount importance for a representative democracy.
TMC wrote on X: “Under the leadership of Smt.@MamataOfficial and the guidance of Shri@abhishekaitc, Shri@iamyusufpathan and Shri@LaliteshPati will represent the All India Trinamool Congress in the Voter Adhikar Yatra in Patna, Bihar. The Opposition stands united against @BJP4India’s electoral fraud. We are committed to safeguarding the sanctity of elections on which the very foundation of our democracy rests.”
Earlier, speculation had suggested that Asansol MP Shatrughan Sinha or Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Sagarika Ghose might be deputed, but the party later confirmed the final delegation.
Explaining the absence of Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, TMC sources said that both leaders are preoccupied with other engagements. Abhishek has been holding district-level meetings in preparation for upcoming elections, while the Chief Minister has her own scheduled programmes. The Voter Adhikar Yatra, launched by the Congress on August 17 in Bihar, has highlighted alleged irregularities in the electoral process. The campaign will culminate with the mega public meeting in Patna, where Opposition leaders of the INDIA bloc are expected to showcase unity ahead of the forthcoming elections. Opposition parties have repeatedly accused the ruling BJP of “vote theft,” a charge that has increasingly shaped political debate.
Despite differences that surfaced between the Congress and TMC during the recent Parliament session over the Constitution Amendment Bill, insiders said that sending representatives underlines TMC’s commitment to remain aligned with the INDIA bloc.