Trinamul candidates have their task cut out during their campaign trail — seek the blessings of party old-timers try and prevent resentment or internal feud.
Working towards this, Tollywood star Sayantika Bandopadhyay, who is chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s choice for the Bankura seat, rolled out her campaign on Tuesday with visits to the homes of three old-timers.
After visiting an old temple, she visited the house of Minati Mishra, a former MLA and wife of Kashinath Mishra, a five-term MLA from Bankura who died in an accident in 2013.
Sayantika touched Minati’s feet and paid floral tribute to a picture of Kashinath. She spent around 30 minutes with the family before leaving the Mishra household to call on the family members of two party veterans Shanti Singh and Tara Kundu who had passed away a few years ago.
The effort to involve “party elders and their families” in the campaign was not restricted to Bankura.
Trinamul’s star candidate June Maliah for Midnapore visited the house of Mrigendra Nath Maiti, the MLA who died recently of Covid.
Trinamul sources said nominees, particularly Tollywood or sports stars, have been asked to visit homes of the party’s old-timers to offset “feelings of neglect”.
“We have realised in the past that candidates who make it to the list from outside do trigger feelings of being ignored among old timers. To ensure a smooth and united fight in the polls, we have asked party candidates to call on old-timers and recognise their contribution,” said a senior Trinamul leader, pointing out that “Kashinathda helped build the organisation in Jungle Mahal districts”.
Trinamul leaders said the gesture to show respect to old timers made poll sense.
“These leaders still have large following in their areas. This show of respect to old timers or their families will touch a large section of voters,” a Trinamul leader said.
“Kashinath babu and two other leaders, who have passed away, were pillars of strength for the party. So it the duty for newcomers to visit their homes and seek their blessings,” said Dilip Agrawal, the Trinamul spokesperson in Bankura.
The initiative gained urgency as Trinamul nominee and panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee had lagged behind BJP’s Subhas Sarkar by over 46,000 votes in the Bankura Assembly constituency in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
The gesture is paying dividends and local residents are welcoming the move.
“In the past we have seen a film star win polls from here but ignore leaders like Kashibabu and Tarababu who have built the party in the region. We are pleased that Sayantika called on the families of these leaders to seek their blessings,” said Prabir Ghosh, a close aide Kashinath.
Sources said at many places like Nadia, the initiative has been adopted as a strategy to avoid factional feud.
Trinamul in Nadia is a largely divided house and Mamata has fielded Tollywood star Koushani Mukherjee for the prestigious Krishnagar North constituency. Trinamul insiders said Koushani had been told to reach out to old-timers and bring all factions under one umbrella.
“There are many people who toiled hard to raise the party and develop a support base in the district. I will go to their doorsteps and seek their blessings,” Koushani told the media.
Additional reporting by Subhasish Chowdhury
