The motto of TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s yatra was “change in the party” and he said, this time, candidates for the upcoming panchayat elections will be decided on the basis of workers’ vote. The Diamond Harbour MP began his yatra on April 25 with an aim to “cleanse” the party and bring about change. As his yatra came to an end on Friday (June 16), the opposition parties launched an attack on the TMC on the issue of poll violence.
Abhishek also spoke about building a “people’s panchayat”. Those close to him said he had travelled over 4,500 km by road, held 135 public meetings, attended 60 special programmes, conducted 125 road shows to understand the pulse of the people and the party. This was also to bring about discipline in the party, they added.
But, will this yatra achieve its purpose? And will it have an impact on the ground? News18 tracked the TMC leader’s journey. In the scorching heat of June, Abhishek was putting up in a couple of tents at his camp in Basirhat’s BSSA Maidan. His supporters, too, were present holding banners and posters.
A TMC worker, who has been a part of the yatra, said, “He is reaching out to all; he holds three to four meetings a day and then voting takes place in the evening. There was a perception that he does not meet people; this yatra proves otherwise. He is constantly on the move and staying in tents.”
When he started in the afternoon, News18 also followed his convoy and people on both sides of the road were standing with his posters, TMC flags, while there were arrangements of dhol-nagada too. From North 24 Parganas, he reached Bhangar in South 24 Parganas on June 13, which is now in the news for poll-related violence that left two people dead on June 15.
As his rally reached there, people were seen on balconies and rooftops and, what was more interesting, was that two different factions of the TMC were seen together. An old woman standing with a flag said, “I am Amina Bibi and I have always supported them; I have come to see him, people in the TMC say he will be Mamata’s successor but will he bring peace here?”
After Bhangar, Abhishek went walking to Canning and met people, waving at them and listening. His next destination was Joynagar, where he went to a blood donation camp and was spotted talking to the doctor; he also donated blood.
Almost at the end of his yatra, his last stop was Kakdwip, which is located at the southernmost tip of West Bengal. This was Abhishek’s last stop, where chief minister Mamata Banerjee also joined him. Here, Abhishek stood up and admitted that the last 60 days had changed him.
He said: “These last 60 days have been a revelation for me, personally. I have stayed with people throughout. When I began this campaign, my critics in the opposition had said I won’t be able to be on the road for six days, let alone 60. But I have proved them wrong, not even for a day have I gone back to Kolkata except for when the CBI summoned me. Our opposition doesn’t realise, the more you hit iron, it becomes stronger.”
Experts said Banerjee could have understood and realised a lot in all these days. “Earlier, he would only go to the districts for big meetings but operate from Kolkata. In these 60 days, he must have realised the strengths and weaknesses of his party and the opposition,” they said.
They further said Abhishek must have also realised how much truth was there in the reports that district leaders sent to the top bosses in Kolkata. Third, party leadership wanted to change the image of corruption and violence, they added.
Most of the candidates chosen for the panchayat polls have been voted for by candidates. While this has led to discontent in some areas, it is not like before when people would come in from villages to protest after candidates were declared. Whether this is obedience Abhishek will understand better as he was on the ground. Above all, party insiders close to Abhishek said the “public connect” angle had helped develop his image.
Mamata, who was with her nephew in Kakdwip, gifted him a framed photograph of the two of them back from when Abhishek was only two years old. “People say Abhishek is new to politics; let me tell you, that he has been in politics since he was two years old. Back then, I had been attacked by the CPIM and there was a bandage around my head. I told him the story of how I was beaten up when he was only two and he listened; from then, he would roam around with a flag saying, ‘Why have you hurt Mamata? I want answers’.”
Experts said this gesture also showed who is next in line.
What critics say
Critics from the opposition, however, questioned as to why there was still so much violence if Abhishek was on a cleaning spree. From Sameek Bhattacharya of the BJP to Sujan Chakraborty of the CPIM, almost all from the opposition have trained their guns at the TMC when it comes to violence.
Bhattacharya said: “It’s a waste of money; people have understood what they are doing; it remains to be seen what the people do this time during the panchayat polls.”
Chakraborty, however, said the TMC’s time was up and this time nothing would work in their favour.
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