KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee gave a pep-talk to her party MLAs to not leave an inch of space to the BJP and asked them to be more humble while reaching out to people and apologise for any mistakes committed in the past. At a meeting of her party MLAs - her first since the Lok Sabha polls in which the BJP won 18 of the 42 seats in the state, just four less than the TMC - Mamata told them to gear up for the Assembly elections, which is just two years away, and exuded confidence that her party will regain power in the state for the third consecutive time.
A senior TMC leader said at the meeting, Mamata exuded confidence that her party will bounce back in the 2021 Assembly polls and asked workers to prepare for it and bring old-timers back to the party fold. "Our party supremo has asked all MLAs to be more humble and reach out to the masses. She has also asked us that if needed the lawmakers should apologise for their mistakes committed in the past," a TMC lawmaker said.
She has asked party leaders to not leave an inch of space to the BJP. She said that political programmes will have to be organised in each of the 294 constituencies to counter the BJP. She also directed the MLAs to remain in their areas and not visit Kolkata frequently. She has asked them to form four-member teams in every area to remain updated about political developments,” another party leader said. The four-member team would comprise two booth-level workers, one social media activist and a district level functionary, the TMC leader said quoting the CM.
Political strategist Prashant Kishor was also present in the meeting for a brief period. Sources said that ahead of the meeting, Kishor met Mamata and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee. Quoting sources, Mamata admonished some of the senior MLAs for making statements which did not go down well with the people during the Lok Sabha elections. She asked party leaders to introspect, and rebuked a section of them for the TMC’s poor performance in the elections, a source said.
