Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday urged her party colleagues to work together before issuing a stern warning that she would take action against those found involved in infighting during the rural polls.

"I urge you all to work together. I request all of my party colleagues, including those from Khoirasole (in Birbhum) not to be divided during the election. An election is a war for us. There should be no division during the war as our only goal is to defeat the BJP, the CPM and the Congress.... If I find division during this time, I will take stern action against those involved," Mamata told a rally in Birbhum's Dubrajpur over the phone from her Kalighat residence.

Mamata addressed the rally virtually as she has been undergoing treatment for her injuries while alighting a chopper in north Bengal last week.

Rural polls this time are important for the ruling Trinamul as they are being seen as a barometer of the party's support base in Bengal before the 2024 general elections. The party's top leadership, including Mamata and Trinamul's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, have repeatedly told party supporters that the election has to be free and fair.

Mamata's warning on Monday was aimed at Trinamul rebels, who are in the fray as Independents from different parts of the state after failing to get party tickets. She mentioned Birbhum's Khoirasole in her address as the leadership is facing the problem of rebel candidates which many believe would end up benefiting the Opposition. Besides Birbhum, Trinamul's infighting is intense in Murshidabad and Hooghly, said a source.

With her warning, Mamata was echoing Abhishek, who repeatedly told party workers during his two-month outreach not to contest or back Independents in the rural polls. He had also said that the party would not take them back even if they emerge victorious.

Despite these warnings, around 12,000 dissidents filed nominations to contest against Trinamul's official candidates.

On June 17, Mamata requested all such dissidents to withdraw their nominations, but only 3,000-odd Independents did. In some places, the party managed some rebels — around 2,000 of them — to campaign for the official candidate publicly.

"It may be true that there were some mistakes (by the leaders), and we apologise for those. You may also like to inform me about such mistakes and I will look into those," Mamata said in a last-ditch attempt on Monday to pacify the 7,000-odd rebels still in the fray before the July 8 rural polls.

A senior party leader said Mamata's message of unity at the Birbhum rally was significant as the district has been facing a political void in the absence of its strongman Anubrata Mondal, arrested by the CBI in a cattle smuggling case in August last year. He is presently lodged in Delhi's Tihar jail with his daughter Sukanya.

Trinamul could not find a replacement for Anubrata. Mamata herself has been trying to look after party affairs in Birbhum after constituting a seven-member committee.

"Anubrata's absence could not be filled up even by forming committees as the members of the committee are a divided house. The differences started after Sheikh Kajal, a leader from the anti-Anubrata group, was inducted into the committee by Mamata. The BJP is trying to use this political void to win some rural body seats in the district. So, her message was important" said a senior Trinamul leader.

Mamata did not forget Anubrata in her speech.

"Keshto (Anubrata's nickname) is not here but he is a member of every family here. It was a trap to detain Keshto... they also arrested his daughter," said the chief minister.

Vegetable prices

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the prices of vegetables would go down very soon as her government has taken multiple steps to address the issue. She claimed that a large number of farmers involved in vegetable production were currently busy with the rural polls and many of them were contesting the elections. "Once the election is over, the supply of vegetables will increase in the markets," she said.