Hope of a turnaround, cut money, EVM versus ballot and ways to combat the BJP — these were among the most talked-about issues among Trinamul supporters at Sunday’s rally.

Thousands braved the oppressive weather to listen to the chief minister and party supremo, Mamata Banerjee. Metro spoke to Trinamul workers and supporters to get an idea of how the grassroots were seeing the change in the party’s fortune.

Turnaround

The supporters admitted that the party was going through a bad patch but were hopeful of a turnaround. “There was a time when there was only one MP from Trinamul. Everyone had written us off. We managed to bounce back. We will surely turn around and win the 2021 polls,” said Raja Debnath, a resident of Kasba.

Debnath is pinning his hopes on the rise in Trinamul’s vote share in the Lok Sabha polls compared with the elections five years ago.

Trinamul had notched up 43 per cent of the votes polled in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, up from 39 per cent in the 2014 parliamentary polls.

Many other Trinamul supporters this newspaper spoke to expressed a similar hope.

Turnout

Some supporters felt the turnout was less than in previous years. Nimai Chandra Biswas from Krishnagar in Nadia said: “I have attended several July 21 rallies. I think the turnout this year is not impressive enough.”

Mamata said in her speech that the railways cancelled many trains to prevent Trinamul workers and supporters from making it to the venue. The claim could not be independently verified.

Many blamed lack of enough supporters from north Bengal for the lower-than-usual turnout.

Dinesh Lakra, who came from Uttar Dinajpur’s Chopra, said the floods in north Bengal had damaged properties and made the lives of many miserable. “Many from north Bengal could not come because the floods have devastated their land and homes. Their immediate priority is to rebuild their homes and lives. How could they have come to the rally?” asked Lakra.

Demand for ballots

Echoing what Mamata has been saying for some time, many of her supporters demanded that the elections be again held with ballots.

People shouted slogans demanding return of ballots and even painted their faces in support of the demand. Shabana Begum, a party worker from Tollygunge, had painted an EVM on one side of her face with a cross mark beside it and a ballot box on the other side with a tick beside it. “EVMs can be manipulated but ballots can’t be. So, we want elections to be held with ballots from now,” she said.

Cut money challenge

Cut money, the two most uttered words in Bengal politics now, dominated discussions at the rally venue. Though no one would admit that cut money was a reality in their areas, they said the opposition was using the issue to its advantage.

“Some leaders in our party did take cut money. By asking them to return people’s money, Didi has proved that she is an honest leader,” said a party leader from Burdwan.

The opposition, he said, was playing “dirty politics” by claiming that all Trinamul leaders had taken cut money.

Sun burnt

34.68 degrees Celsius at 10.30am, 35.28 degrees at noon and 36.94 degrees at 1.45pm. The heat and humidity made the conditions unbearable but the die-hard supporters and workers thought it was a minor inconvenience. “Anything for Didi,” was the refrain.

Many wore sunglasses or carried umbrellas. The party had set up medical assistance booths in case anyone fell ill and also built kiosks from where drinking water was distributed. There were long queues in front of the kiosks.

Trinamul activists on bikes on their way to the meeting venue

Sherbet being distributed among party workers to beat the afternoon heat

Food being distributed Pictures by Pradip Sanyal, Sanat Kr Sinha, Bishwarup Dutta and Gautam Bose

Saffron surge

L.B. Mukhia from Darjeeling’s Sukhiapokhri said he had expected a better performance by Trinamul in the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP won the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat.

Mukhia arrived in Calcutta with a group of 100 people from Darjeeling on Saturday. “I don’t know what went wrong. We had expected better results. The people of the hills still love Mamata Banerjee. But I don’t know why they didn’t vote for her?” wondered Mukhia.

A supporter from Purulia’s Para said the party trailed behind the BJP in his Assembly segment in the Lok Sabha polls. “The MLA is from Trinamul. But it seems 2021 will be a tough fight,” he said.