The Trinamul Congress on Saturday launched a 75-day reach-out drive named “Banglar Gorbo Mamata” to highlight the development projects and direct-benefit-transfer schemes initiated by the Bengal government.

Trinamul sources said this was the first such co-ordinated and centralised programme initiated by the ruling party.

“All 211 MLAs of the party launched the programme in their respective areas on Saturday. At places where the party does not have an MLA, the Trinamul district presidents concerned kicked off the programme. The party wants to let people know what the chief minister has done for them since coming to power in 2011,” a senior Trinamul leader said.

The sources said the initiative was the brainchild of poll consultant Prashant Kishor, who apparently wants party members to reach out to remote areas to tell people about the government’s work.

The campaign, according to the sources, will build the narrative to counter the BJP in the 2021 Assembly polls.

“The BJP, in its characteristic style, will try to polarise the voters ahead of the polls…. If we have a narrative of development ready, the polarisation ploy will have limited impact,” a minister said.

According to him, Trinamul has closely observed the outcome of the Delhi polls in which the Aam Aadmi Party won convincingly by highlighting the development done by the Arvind Kejriwal government.

Senior Trinamul leaders said the party performed poorly in the Lok Sabha polls, in which the BJP won 18 seats in Bengal, primarily because of its failure to underscore its achievements and gauge the discontent among people.

“Now we are more prepared. If we can carry on with a co-ordinated programme like this, the BJP will find it difficult to create a different narrative. The chief minister is our face and we want to reach out to people with the message of what she has delivered,” a Trinamul leader said.

“The state government has launched programmes to give benefits to all sections of the society…. If we can let people know about these, no campaign against the state government will be successful. This was proved in the Delhi Assembly elections where Kejriwal’s welfare politics defeated the BJP’s divisive politics,” the leader said.

Before “Banglar Gorbo Mamata” was launched, party workers and leaders from the block level to the gram panchayats were trained to explain the benefits of the schemes to the people. They have been asked to highlight local development projects, including laying of roads, restoration of ponds, giving old-age pension benefits to the poor, building houses and distributing cheap food grains.

“In a survey we found that at least 94 per cent families had been benefited by at least one project or the other launched by Mamata Banerjee. The leaders and workers will go to every doorstep and highlight local development work,” said Chandranath Sinha, the fisheries minister.

The campaign has been divided into three phases. Trinamul leaders will get in touch with other leaders and workers of the party, local journalists, opinion makers, tribals and young voters in the first two phases. In the final phase, a door-to-door campaign will be undertaken, followed by rallies and processions.