Abhishek Banerjee launches TMC’s campaign, says people will teach BJP a lesson

KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Friday mounted a sharp offensive on the Election Commission over the special intensive revision (SIR) as he launched the party’s campaign for the assembly elections, insisting that the party will improve on its 2021 landslide win.

Abhishek Banerjee, the three-time MP from Diamond Harbour who is also the chief minister’s nephew, also launched a month-long campaign rally from a rally in Baruipur in South 24 Parganas.

The campaign has been named Jotoi Koro Hamla, Abar Jitbe Bangla (No matter how much you attack, Bengal will win again).

Abhishek, who is widely perceived to be party supremo Mamata Banerjee’s heir apparent, attacked the BJP over multiple fronts including stopping of central funds to the state, attacks of Bengal-speaking people in BJP-ruled states and the SIR.

“The 2026 assembly election is not just an election to defeat them. It is an election to teach them a lesson,” he said, urging voters to ensure that every TMC candidate in South 24 Parganas wins by a margin of more than 50,000 votes.

“I have promised every worker and supporter of TMC and every citizen of the state that the vote share and seat share of TMC will increase in the coming elections compared to the party’s performance in 2021… This time we will win at least one more seat,” Abhishek said, a reference to Union home minister Amit Shah’s pointing to the party’s increase in vote share and claiming that the BJP would form the next government with two-thirds majority.

Banerjee also paraded three persons on the specially designed dais with four-way ramp, saying their names had been allegedly deleted from the draft electoral roll published by ECI on December 16.

“The reason I wanted a ramp like this is because I want to present before you three ‘ghosts’. Have you seen dead people walking on ramps?” Banerjee asked, introducing three persons.

Earlier this week Banerjee led a TMC-del­eg­a­tion that met chief elec­tion com­mis­sioner Gyanesh Kumar at the EC headquarters, spark­ing a war-of-words between the polit­ical party and the poll panel over the SIR exercise. He suggested Mamata could also be headed next.

“Be prepared. Today Abhishek Banerjee has gone to Delhi. Mamata Banerjee will go next. Who will save you then? You won’t be able to escape,” Abhishek said.

“Those who unmapped you (in the SIR), wipe them off from the map of West Bengal. Unmap the people who unmapped you,” he said.

The BJP said the TMC was getting desperate because Mamata Banerjee knew her party would lose the state elections.

“Mamata Banerjee is no paratrooper politician. She understands the ground reality very well. She knows what’s coming. The ouster of TMC is inevitable. That’s why the leaders are making such remarks out of frustration. SIR is being held in 12 states. But only West Bengal is witnessing hooliganism. EC officials are being attacked. Why is Abhishek Banerjee telling all these things to the media? He should move the Supreme Court. The TMC should definitely go to Delhi. It is a nice place for political tourism,” Samik Bhattacharya, BJP state president, told the media.