The Trinamul Congress organised another mammoth march in north Bengal within a span of four days, with around 40,000 people walking in a procession in Cooch Behar against the new citizenship regime.

The turnout at Tuesday’s march and the one chief minister Mamata Banerjee led in Siliguri on Friday suggest that Trinamul is regaining ground it ceded to the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections last year. In Cooch Behar, the BJP had won the lone parliamentary seat.

“Buoyed by the success of Mamata Banerjee’s rally, the party had called for a similar march in Cooch Behar. It has succeeded in proving its strength. More specifically, the spontaneous participation of thousands of people indicate that people are returning to Trinamul from the BJP in the aftermath of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the NRC,” a veteran politician in Cooch Behar town said.

On Friday, Mamata had held a march in Siliguri against the new citizenship regime. Accompanied by around 35,000 people, Mamata had walked 3.5km. Before that march, the Trinamul chief had said similar rallies would be held in Malda and Cooch Behar.

Earlier on December 30, the BJP had organised a pro-CAA rally in Cooch Behar town. Former Trinamul heavyweight and current BJP leader Mukul Roy had been in attendance.

“The people did not respond to the BJP’s march, as was evident from the abysmal participation. These days, even dedicated supporters of the BJP are not attending the party’s events as they have realised the consequences of the CAA and the NRC,” said Partha Pratim Roy, the working president of the Cooch Behar district Trinamul.

“The BJP’s December 30 march is no match for what Cooch Behar witnessed on Tuesday. It was history and we did not even have to convince people to join the march. They came on their own, as had happened in Siliguri four days ago,” Roy added.

Ahead of the march, a public meeting was held at the Rashmela ground.

Trinamul national general secretary Subrata Ghosh and north Bengal development minister Rabindranath Ghosh, who led the 3km march, were present there too.

As Cooch Behar shares a border with Assam, the attendance assumes more significance. Many people in Cooch Behar have relatives and friends who have been left out of the NRC list in Assam although they have been living in the north-eastern state for long.

“There are many people from Cooch Behar living in Assam, and now they have not been included in the NRC list. Their relatives and friends here are living in distress and they do realise what consequences an NRC in Bengal could have on them,” an observer said. “Repeated assertions by BJP leaders that an NRC exercise will be done here has affected the party’s support,” he added.

Many in the BJP admitted in private that they were worried about the people’s participation in Trinamul’s march. “We have time and again said the pro-NRC and pro-CAA campaign will not help in Cooch Behar. It is high time that we take up the task of retaining our support,” a BJP leader said.

Malati Rava, the district BJP chief, tried to put up a brave face. “Trinamul brought people to the march by promising doles to them. The people are still with us,” she said.