Trinamul on Sunday created a record of sorts in Indian politics when party supremo and Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee walked on a pair of cross ramps with 42 party nominees to introduce them to party workers and supporters, who had assembled at the Brigade parade grounds for the Jono Garjan (Roaring people) rally.
Unlike the tradition of Trinamul announcing party candidates from a news meet at Mamata’s 30B Harish Chatterjee Street home, the ruling party introduced something new this time.
The high point was when Mamata began walking on the ramp, flanked by nominees. Her nephew and Trinamul national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee kept reading out names as pictures of the candidates flashed on giant LED screens put up at strategic spots on the historic Brigade grounds.
The fact that a spectacle awaited the crowd was announced by Mamata at the start of her speech.
“You will see a new thing today.... I will walk with our party’s 42 candidates on this ramp,” said Mamata, to loud cheers from the crowd.
After her 18-minute speech, the shortest in recent memory, Mamata came down the flight of stairs and stood at the top of the ramp, directing Abhishek to announce the names.
“I will request Abhishek to announce the names (of the candidates). Now I will walk on the ramp. All of you (candidates), please come with me to receive greetings and blessings from the people,” the chief minister said before approaching the ramp.
Trinamul set up three large stages connected by a pair of ramps — one measuring 330 feet and the other 240 feet.
“Generally people at the back hardly get to see Didi or Abhishek.... The ramps were planned so that two of our top leaders could go among the people and greet them. The response from the crowd was amazing. The ramps became the talking point,” said a Trinamul leader who was part of the planning.
The Trinamul leadership was also happy with the turnout at the Brigade. Unofficial estimates put the number at around four lakh. However, some aerial shots revealed parts of the ground were empty.
While turnout at political rallies is an important parameter for gauging the popularity of a leader or a party, crowd count at a ruling party rally is often misleading.
“The turnout at Brigade rallies organised by the Left rallies towards the end of its 34-year-old regime used to be quite impressive... But still, they lost election after election. So, don’t read much into the turnout,” said a political observer. “What matters is the appeal of the top leaders and their policies among people.... There is little doubt that Mamata remains popular, but the party is facing problems because of the corruption charges against its leaders,” said the observer.
The observer, however, added that the idea of the ramps for the Trinamul Brigade event was unique, which added to the excitement of those who had turned up at the venue.
Bengal’s main Opposition, the BJP, mocked the way Mamata walked on the ramps with the candidates.
“The ramp walk was like marching with idols before immersion. The ramp walk will not save Trinamul candidates from defeat,” said the BJP’s Rajya Sabha member Samik Bhattacharya.
