Trinamool War Room And Its Strategy To Counter BJP

Kolkata: From using a “jumla meter” that nails the BJPs ‘lies’ to highlighting the achievements of the eight-year-old Mamata Banerjee government, West Bengals ruling Trinamool Congress has built a “pro-active campaign” for the Lok Sabha polls with the help of social media and conventional canvassing.

The campaign is being driven from the party’s 24x7 war room in Kolkata, under the leadership of Trinamool Youth Congress national president and party supremo Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee.

Alongside Banerjee junior, the perceived heir to the party chief, is a crop of media savvy, tech savvy functionaries like the party’s leader in the Rajya Sabha Derek O’Brien.

“Our campaign strategy is partly decided on the basis of our own surveys. There is a research team which also places its findings. We have done a lot of work based on support from the ground,” a party source told IANS.

Abhishek, who is MP from Diamond Harbour and now contesting to retain the seat, is the overall in-charge of the campaign

“Abhishek is extremely sharp politically, just like his aunt, and comes up with valuable suggestions. Derek and a group of young leaders are with him,” a Trinamool Congress leader said on condition of anonymity.

“The 24x7 war room is the venue for constant deliberations, brainstorming sessions, strategy meetings,” he said.

A lot of self-criticism takes place during the interactions to understand where the party stands in a particular constituency.

Colonel (retired) Diptangshu Chaudhury, Convenor, Social Media, Trinamool, Congress said: “We are laying equal emphasis on social media and conventional campaign. For instance, our Asansol Lok Sabha candidate (Moon Moon Sen) has already done 195 public meetings and road shows”.

Incidentally, Chaudhury is also party’s election observer and election agent for Asansol, which the Trinamool Congress is striving to recapture from the BJP.

“Apart from our meetings and rallies, there are many of our dedicated soldiers working behind the scenes.

“In every booth, we have at least 20 people who are working day and night for the party. At the grassroots we are very strong. On the other hand, take my word, the BJP won’t get polling agents in 80 per cent of the booths in Asansol.”

Asansol is only a microcosm of the political battleground in West Bengal. The Bharatiya Janata Party has never been in power in the State even though Syama Prasad Mookerjee, who founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, was Bengali. An aggressive BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah wants to set the record straight. (IANS)

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