Abhishek promises restoration of voting rights after May 4

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Monday addressed three back-to-back campaign rallies across Nadia and North 24 Parganas, placing citizenship, identity, and voting rights at the core of his electoral pitch.

Beginning his campaign in Karimpur, followed by Ranaghat and later Baduria, Banerjee repeatedly assured that those whose names have been deleted from electoral rolls would have their rights restored after May 4, when the Trinamool Congress expects to form the government.

At the Ranaghat rally, he made a direct appeal to the Matua community, urging them not to apply under the Citizenship Amendment Act. He warned that filling out CAA forms could amount to declaring oneself a “non-citizen,” alleging that the BJP was misleading people. Instead, he promised that once the new government is formed, the state itself will facilitate citizenship and provide identity documents.

The Matua issue dominated his address, with Banerjee asserting that the party would not allow even a single legitimate voter, particularly from the community, to be excluded. He accused BJP leaders of trivialising the deletion of Matua voters and attempting to disenfranchise them despite their electoral support in previous elections. Drawing parallels with Assam’s NRC exercise, Banerjee alleged that many Bengali Hindus had faced detention, warning that similar risks loom if BJP policies are implemented in Bengal. “BJP means detention, AITC means no tension,” he said, reiterating that voting rights would be restored within a month of government formation. At his Karimpur rally, Banerjee reinforced this assurance, stating that those whose names were struck off despite having documents need not fear, as the Trinamool government would act swiftly to reinstate them. He framed the election as a democratic opportunity to respond to what he described as “systematic deprivation of rights.”

Beyond citizenship, Banerjee highlighted state welfare schemes, including Lakshmir Bhandar and Banglar Bari, claiming that development work had continued uninterrupted even in areas where the party did not win. He contrasted this with alleged central fund cuts, targeting the BJP-led government under Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.

He also criticised BJP leaders for alleged cultural insensitivity, referring to misstatements about Bengali icons like Rabindranath Tagore, and accused them of failing to understand Bengal’s linguistic and cultural identity.

Across all three rallies, Banerjee maintained that the upcoming election is not merely political but a fight to safeguard identity and constitutional rights.

Urging voters to respond through the ballot, he called for a decisive mandate in favour of Trinamool candidates, reiterating that citizenship, dignity and voting rights would be protected once the party returns to power after May 4.