Trinamul chief and Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee instructed the party functionaries on Tuesday to reach out to the Bengal electorate with the BJP’s alleged financial irregularities, while reaffirming her faith in Trinamul’s jailed former Birbhum district president and strongman Anubrata Mondal.

“Didi said we have been unable to convey to the people how corrupt the BJP is. She said we have to reach out to voters and tell them BJP is a 'boro chor (bigger thief)'," said a Trinamul leader who attended the meet.

Mondal was arrested by the CBI in connection with a cattle smuggling racket in August 2022 and is currently at Tihar jail. On Monday, the Supreme Court had adjourned Mondal’s bail plea till February 27 by when it is likely that the Lok Sabha polls would be announced.

The allusion to “a bigger thief” is likely to draw a question on the identity of the smaller one. A number of Trinamul leaders have been arrested, questioned and a few are absconding in connection with a number of scams that have been unearthed in the last ten years or so.

“Didi said Keshto was arrested and kept in prison without any reason. She said he would not remain incarcerated for long and would be back soon. She said his contribution to the party’s organizational grip in the district could not be forgotten,” a Trinamul leader said. “She said CBI and ED were after him and we must be by his side. Whenever he is back, he will be reinstated.”

The Calcutta High Court had rejected Mondal’s bail plea in January last year, saying his release could have adverse impact on the witnesses in the case as he held an important political post and had overwhelming clout in the administration.

Before his arrest, Mondal was considered to be the last word in the district. The near total grip that Trinamul has exerted in the district was largely due to Mondal’s influence. Both Lok Sabha seats in the district – Birbhum and Bolpur – are held by the Trinamul.

Since Mondal’s arrest, Mamata herself has been monitoring the district along with a nine-member core-committee. The two sitting MPs, Satabdi Roy and Asit Mal, were dropped from the core committee. Kajal Sheikh, who was sworn-in as the Birbhum zilla parishad sabhadhipati last year, was also dropped from the core committee and has been asked to focus on his bastion, the trouble-spot Nanoor and Ketugram.

The changes indicate Mamata was finding it difficult to find a suitable replacement for Mondal. When Sheikh was given charge last year it was considered that she was considering him to marshal the forces in Birbhum for the Lok Sabha polls, where the BJP has made steady inroads, despite the strong Muslim voteshare.

As she had done with Murshidabad and the two Midnapores, Mamata instructed local leaders to prepare for the polls without any alliance partner in mind, indicating that an electoral understanding with the Congress was unlikely in the state.