SHILLONG/ TURA, Jan 18: Making a huge political statement, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday kicked off her party’s campaign in front of a massive turn out that showed solidarity with her.
She lost no time to project TMC as an alternative to the MDA Government which, she termed as “BJP proxy corrupt government”.
This is Mamata’s first election rally in Garo Hills held at Mendipathar in North Garo Hills district, where TMC is expecting significant gains. She was cheerfully greeted by a teeming crowd. With time, the jubilant crowd swelled and vowed support for TMC, which observers said, was an indication of the party’s growing popularity in the Garo Hills. The party put the crowd figure to 50,000 — the biggest number for any rally ever in Meghalaya.
Banerjee was accompanied by Trinamool leaders, including Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O’Brien.
In her trademark style, the West Bengal chief minister targeted the BJP right from the word go, picking holes in the governance of the Conrad Sangma-led coalition government in which the saffron party is a constituent.
“The BJP is a double-faced party which promises something at the time of elections and does something else after polls,” she said.
At the same, she presented TMC as an alternative to BJP in Meghalaya, which is going to polls on February 27.
Claiming that TMC is the only party that has the mindset and ability to provide better governance in Meghalaya, which according to her, has enormous potentiality and scope to develop tourism and to solve unemployment problems, she said: “What has this MDA Government done in the past five years? We challenge them to show their report card on what they did in the past five years. Why is it that after so many years, electricity hasn’t reached most parts of Meghalaya? Why is the younger generation not getting any employment opportunities?”
Banerjee said that in the upcoming Assembly elections, the Trinamool would come to power to empower the people, uphold the culture, celebrate the sacred land of Meghalaya, and remove the proxy BJP government, which is corrupt and hasn’t done anything for the people.
The BJP, with two MLAs (including a minister), is part of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) Government led by NPP headed by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma.
TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, looking at the enthusiasm of the people, observed that the NPP would not be able to win a single seat from Garo Hills.
“This public gathering would be the death knell for the corrupt NPP-MDA government,” he thundered and added that if voted to power, the people of the soil would run the government in Meghalaya, unlike those leaders who run governments from the ivory towers of Guwahati and Delhi.
“If you want to change this corrupt and proxy BJP government, then Trinamool is the only credible alternative. Our party can provide better governance as it fulfills the dreams of the youth, women, students and farmers. We want a government for the people, by the people and of the people in Meghalaya.”
Mamata’s Wednesday visit to Meghalaya was the second in little over one month. In December, she was on a two-day visit to Shillong where she promised to launch TMC’s Meghalaya Financial Inclusion for Women Empowerment (MFI-WE) if the party is voted to power.
The Trinamool is the first party in Meghalaya that recently declared their candidates for 52 of the total of 60 seats.
Twelve MLAs, led by former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma (2010-2018) who had won in the 2018 Assembly election as Congress nominees joined the Trinamool in November 2021, making the West Bengal-based party the main opposition in Meghalaya overnight.
However, of the 12 Trinamool MLAs, five have quit to join other parties. (With inputs from agencies)
