From Our Correspondent
RESUBELPARA, Jan 19: Mamata Banerjee came, saw and conquered. On Wednesday, West Bengal Chief Minister’s crowd-pulling capacity was in full display at the Dilma Apal playground. Banerjee’s visit to Garo Hills came in the nick when her party Trinamool Congress needed a reason to put up a show of strength on a day when the Election Commission has sounded the poll bugle in the state. Didi, who pulled nearly 50,000 crowds, was clearly a ‘show-stopper’.
The crowd strength at Mamata Banerjee’s rally surpassed her nephew and AITC general secretary and MP, Abhishek Banerjee’s recent meeting, which drew 30,000 people.
Wednesday’s rally probably surpassed all previous records of the crowd gathering at rallies from any political leader in the state.
One of the main reasons for the lack of crowds can be the lack of venues where people can throng in large numbers. This factor has generally led to small gatherings numbering just a few thousand even if any popular come to pay a visit to the area.
Dilma Apal, however, presented a different story, with its capacity to accommodate more than 30,000 people if arrangements are made at right time.
The organisers of the rally can be credited for accommodating 30,000 people at the meeting.
The craze surrounding Mamata’s rally can be gauged from the fact that additional 20,000 people, who could not find a place to sit due to lack of capacity, gathered just behind the stage to listen to Banerjee, who was accompanied by Abhishek, former Meghalaya CM Mukul Sangma and state TMC president, Charles Pyngrope on the stage.
Soon after Mamata’s chopper landed near the Mendipathar Bazaar area, she reached the stage at about 1 PM via road. She was accorded a rousing welcome by Wangala dancers. She immediately approached one of the drummers and tried her hand at the ‘Dama’.
In her usual style, Mamata did her best to replicate the dancers before reaching the stage and greeting everyone she saw.
West Bengal Chief Minister continued her tirade against what she called a ‘failed government’.
“We are not someone who make promises and fail to deliver those, unlike others. I am in politics not to make money but because of my passion. I chose to serve the people and you can see how we have transformed Bengal with our vision,” she stated.
Banerjee touched the hearts of locals when she made her wish known to them. Mamata said she want to stay in Garo Hills after the elections to learn the local language.
Asking the crowd whether they wanted a change, Mamata got the crowd on its feet seeking voices of unison in her appeal. The entire stage reverberated with the chorus.
Abhishek also lost no time to target the NPP-led government giving a call to overthrow the ‘double engine’ government. He also accused the BJP of running a proxy government through the NPP and its allies. He also called for their ouster for failing to provide good governance in the state. “Meghalaya is in absolute shambles. Education, health infrastructure, and employment sectors have collapsed. This is because orders are being taken from the ivory towers of New Delhi or Guwahati. We will ensure that this situation changes and the state is ruled by sons of the soil,” he said.
Mukul Sangma promised the crowd that every penny meant for the development of the state would be accounted for after TMC returns to power. Charles rued the fact that the state which is known as the ‘abode of clouds’ has now turned into a haven of corruption.
Meanwhile, the locals are taken aback by the sheer number of people at the venue.
“We have never seen such mind-boggling at any political rally in our constituency. We were literally amazed to see people still walking to the venue by hundreds even when the meeting was almost halfway finished,” said a resident.
Locals had a brisk business at the venue. Food stalls were set up in good numbers. Some regretted not setting up stalls as profits were guaranteed due to the sheer number of people that gathered at the spot. Stalls ran out of stock quickly with boiled eggs being the only thing that remained for people to fill their stomachs.
“I wish I had set up a stall with enough provisions as the crowd was unbelievable. I would have made a windfall from feeding those hungry at the rally,” added another local.
“This is possibly as big a crowd as it was during the poll rally of PM Narendra Modi in Shyamnagar near Phulbari. The BJP could not make a dent and it failed to win any seat in 2018 from Garo Hills. TMC will take heart from the numbers but should not count this as support for their cause. If the crowd numbers translated into popular votes, the party will win the absolute majority. I am sure they have done a lot of hard work to capture a good number of seats,” said another resident.
Another person, however, was impressed by what he saw.
“This is possibly the biggest rally we have seen. Mamata didi is a crowd-puller but I didn’t expect such a big crowd,” said another local.
The meeting was held in the constituency of the former TMC MLA, Marthon J Sangma, who switched camps to join the NPP. He is pitted against TMC’s Pardinand D Shira, UDP’s Subroto Marak, Congress’ Timjim Momin, and the yet-to-be-announced BJP candidate.