Kolkata: In three days of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launching a new outreach programme, ‘Didike Bolo’, a call centre run by poll strategist Prashant Kishor’s I-PAC under the initiative has been flooded with calls.
A stark revelation for the team working on the programme is the perception in the state that newer recruits of the Trinamool Congress, many of them defectors from the CPM, are behind a lot of the ills associated with the party.
A good number of calls relate to people’s concern about the CPM defectors who joined the Trinamool and some new faces who were taken into the party without a background check, a senior member of the team told The Print.
“People are of the opinion that old Trinamool Congress leaders and workers are relatively honest and also sensitive to the people’s cause,” said the source. “While the new recruits are more into extortion, running various syndicates (cartels that extort money for all sorts of projects) and indulging in violence to retain control. The existing party leaders and cadres are however more respected and accessible to people.”
On the first day of the helpline, over 700 people complained about the “new Trinamool Congress cadre” and accused them of being “dishonest”, added the source.
A Trinamool Congress leader, who did not want to be named, told ThePrint that this was nothing new for the party.
“It has been there for quite some time. At times, we, who have been in the party since its inception, found ourselves at the receiving end. The factional feuds and the intra-party clashes we see are also caused by this conflict between old and new,” the leader said.
“Among these new leaders and workers, many come from a party against which we fought a pitched battle for almost a decade before coming to power. But Didi is taking care of things now. We expect these issues to be resolved soon. The new inductees will also start respecting the values of the Trinamool Congress and the people.”
Reacting to the allegations, a senior Trinamool leader from Cooch Behar who was once with the CPM, objected to such blanket characterisation.
“I was a member of the Communist party and I joined the TMC seeing Didi’s work. I have not adopted any dishonest means to earn money,” said the leader. “It is not about old or new. It is about individuals. There are many old Trinamool leaders who are neck deep in corruption and indulge in mindless violence.
“So, this is not between old and new, but between corrupt and clean. We do not know what kind of complaints the helplines are getting, but I am sure Didi will take action on everything,” the leader added.
Every since Mamata Banerjee came to power in West Bengal, there has been a steady defection of leaders and workers from CPM and Congress to Trinamool. Among the prominent Trinamool leaders who had been with other parties earlier are Rajya Sabha MP Manas Bhuniya, who was formerly a Congress legislative party leader; ministers Sujit Bose and Abdul Rezzak Mollah, who were previously with the Left Front; Lok Sabha MP Mala Roy, who was a senior congress leader; and Udyan Guha, who was a senior Forward Bloc leader.
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‘17000 to 18000 calls per hour’
The ‘Didike Bolo’ helpline number is getting at least 17,000 to 18,000 calls per hour, said a source in the I-PAC.
“The grievance cell under the chief minister’s office has also been receiving complaints and suggestions. But the response we are getting looks like a manifold increase in numbers,” he added.
Apart from the grievances regarding “new recruits” of Trinamool, the helpline is also getting complaints about the state-sponsored schemes. “People are also worried about some schemes. Some are also suggesting how certain schemes can be tweaked a little to transfer more benefits to people. We are working on these as well. These are all live feedbacks. And we will analyse these specifically,” the I-PAC source told ThePrint.
The helpline also has a website where people can submit their complaints. The feedback form on the website is however available only in English and Bengali. Party sources said the ‘Didike Bolo’ initiative aims to mainly connect with the core Trinamool voters in the state.
The party has been holding events to distribute T-shirts, bags and other accessories with the logo ‘Didike bolo’ to publicise the initiative.
Outreach programme under way
The helpline is just a part of the outreach programme launched by Banerjee as the state readies for assembly elections.
As part of the other initiatives, there have been many press conferences, street campaigns and programmes held by Trinamool Congress leaders and state ministers in the three days.
The outreach comes in the wake of the ‘cut-money’ protests that has clearly put the ruling party on the back foot. It also comes on the back of the Trinamool ceding ground to the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections and is an attempt to resuscitate the image of the chief minister.
West Bengal Minister for Law and Labour Malay Ghatak said, “This is one of the rare occasions when a political leader has launched such a massive outreach programme. Now, everybody will be able to directly reach the leader and express the concern they have. What can be more people-friendly policy by any party?”
Banerjee seems to be on the ‘connect to people’ mode now. After leading a walk for the environment Thursday, the chief minister also launched an app and a website to cater information about snake venom and what should be done after a snakebite.
“We have conducted a survey in villages about the number of snakebite deaths. In villages people mostly die of ignorance. This is a ready reckoner,” a state minister told The Print. “It is in Bengali, so that people living in rural areas can read and understand. By all these we are trying to touch lives and get back the affection people had for us.”
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