Trinamool Congress leadership expects record number of people to attend the Martyrs' Day rally scheduled to be held in the city on July 21.
Party chief Mamata Banerjee will address the rally at Esplanade. Party leaders are holding rallies both in the city and districts which are attended by thousands of workers and sympathisers.
Abhishek Banerjee, national president of Trinamool Youth Congress, was the biggest crowd-puller in the meetings. His rallies held in Bankura, Hoghly and South 24 Parganas were flooded with people. Meetings are being held in every ward and areas which are being addressed by Subrata Mukherjee, Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, Sovan Chatterjee, Firhad Hakim, Sashi Panja among others. The district presidents have also held meetings upto the block levels.
Party insiders said there are three key issues which the party chief is likely to address. Banerjee is likely to take up the issue of communalism which is being spread by BJP by using social media. Banerjee had criticised the party for this over and again but she is likely to raise the matter and give instructions to the rank and file. The party has requested people not to get swayed by rumours and peace force (shanty bahini) will be formed in every booth to raise its voice against communalism.
The movement in the Hills is a big issue and she is likely to address the matter and instruct party leaders and workers. As the Panchayat election is scheduled to be held in 2018, Banerjee is likely to address the crowd on it as well. She has already asked party leaders and workers to build intense mass contact and strengthen the organisation. Despite her warnings, there are factional feud and allegations of extortion have been leveled against some party leaders and workers and she is going to address this issue which is becoming a problem in some pockets.
Party workers will come from the districts on the eve of the rally and will be put up in different places. Ten major rallies will be taken out on July 21 which will converge at Esplanade.