CM Mamata takes a dig at Amit Shah's plan to visit West Bengal every month before polls

In a dig at the BJP, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said some visit the state prior to elections and leave making tall promises, but she stays by the side of people throughout the year.

Inaugurating a Chhath puja in the city, Banerjee said her government does not believe in only delivering speeches during polls. Without naming central BJP leaders who visited West Bengal in the recent past, Banerjee said, "There are some people who come to the state only before and during elections. They deliver long speeches and then leave soon afterwards. Unlike them, we stay with the public throughout the year, in every situation." 

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TMC's campaign 

In the run-up to the West Bengal elections, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has started a digital campaign called 'Mark Yourself safe from BJP' and the party said that till Tuesday as many as 10-lakh people had joined the campaign. The ruling Trinamool had launched the campaign on October 23 to inform people about the alleged wrongdoings of the BJP in the country. A brainchild of poll strategist Prashant Kishor and his I-PAC (Indian Political Action Committee) team, the campaign has allegedly witnessed maximum participation from people in the age group of 18-35 years.

Earlier the TMC had launched 'Didi Ke Bolo' campaign, also a brainchild of Kishor, about a year ago. In it people with any grievances on any issue could contact the chief minister's office by dialling a helpline number or through WhatsApp and Facebook. It has also launched a campaign "Bangla r Gorbo Mamata" (Didi, the pride of Bengal) in March.

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BJP poll preparation in West Bengal

From recruiting workers from reserved categories of society for every polling booth to painting the party's symbol lotus at various locations and staying in touch with priests and people from cooperative societies and self-help groups in near neighbourhood -- the BJP has devised a booth-level strategy with stress on minute details to wrest power from the TMC in West Bengal. Senior party leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who might visit the state every month till elections are held, has set a detailed 23-point to-do list for every booth to ensure the BJP's victory in West Bengal, where it has never been in power.

The BJP is trying its tried-and-tested booth-level strategy in West Bengal where polls are scheduled to be held early next year. The party has emerged as the main challenger to the ruling TMC, winning 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 elections with more than 40 per cent of total votes. 

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