Abhishek warns party workers: Serve the people or resign ahead of state elections

Kolkata: Reiterating his previous warning, Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee is learnt to have asked his party members to either work for the people or quit their posts ahead of the upcoming state elections.

Banerjee, who on Wednesday announced a short hiatus from politics, is learnt to have dispatched an internal communication to his party members, including MPs, MLAs and state cabinet ministers. It reportedly came to light that Banerjee has reiterated his warning which he had made clear during his Nabajowar campaign at the time of the Panchayat elections in the state, last year.Banerjee, at that time, had given out strict warnings to all the party members, including Panchayat workers, to either work for the people or step down from their posts.

Banerjee had received several complaints from people that elected representatives are often not available and at times completely disconnected. He had said that the party would seek performance reports from time to time.

Now, Banerjee is learnt to have instructed party members that they need to fulfil the promises made during the Nabajowar campaign which includes grievances relating to roads, education, health and drinking water, among other issues. Reports claimed that such instructions were especially meant for ones holding cabinet portfolios and yet failing to make the party candidate get enough vote leads or make them win in the recently concluded elections. Further, it was clarified that the party will not tolerate any leader who intends to just sit and warm their chairs instead of hitting the ground and working for the people, standing beside them in their hour of need. He clarified that it is solely performance that will be the parameter of testing one’s ability as a people’s representative. Such instructions gain relevance ahead of the 2026 state elections where TMC aims to gain a 50 per cent vote share in the state.

The party feels that before that election, it needs to further solidify its ground to ensure that it can win the trust of the people in assembly constituencies where TMC could not gain a vote lead in Lok Sabha polls.