Months ahead of the crucial panchayat polls, the Trinamul Congress on Wednesday launched its new mass outreach campaign, 'Didir Suraksha Kavach' (Didi's Protective Shield) to check and ensure that people get benefits from the pro-people projects of the state government.

The first phase of the campaign — 'Anchale Ek Din/Nagare Ek Din' (One day in the area) — started on Wednesday, where state-level party leadership will spend a day each at all gram panchayats and urban local bodies across the state.

"The programme started this morning. Till now, 44-gram panchayats have been covered so far. The figures will go up by the evening," a senior party leader said. Under the 'Didir Suraksha Kavach' initiative, around 3.5 lakh volunteers of the ruling Trinamool Congress will reach out to approximately 10 crore people of the state in 60 days starting January 11. "These visits will be spread over 45 days starting from January 11. During this period, the leaders will visit places of cultural importance, have community lunches with local influencers, and interact with locals, panchayat and municipality representatives. They will conduct rallies in the area," a senior TMC leader had said.

The campaign's next phase involves over 3.5 lakh booth workers or 'Didir Doots' (Messengers of Didi), who will take 'Didir Suraksha Kavach' to nearly two crore households across the state. West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee herself announced on January 2 the launch of the campaign. The campaign has been designed to cover six core sectors essential for the care and sustenance of human life and ensure that all the state residents can avail of benefits from the listed 15 welfare schemes of the state.

Panchayat polls are due in April-May this year.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.