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In the Martyrs' Day rally — Trinamool Congress biggest annual public event — West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee today launched her campaign for the 2016 Assembly polls saying TMC would fight the election alone. In a gathering of about half a million at Esplanade, in the heart of the city, TMC supremo today asked her party workers to ensure that it breaks all electoral records to come back to power in 2016.
As it was the last Martyrs' Day rally ahead of the assembly poll next year, Banerjee rolled out the achievements in the four years she has been in power. Restoration of peace in Naxalite-hit Jangalmahal, “Kanyashree scheme” for girl students, “monthly stipends to Imams”, “fair price shop for medicine for poors”, restoration of normal life in Darjeeling hills which was hit by Gorkhaland agitaions often — all found mention in Mamata Banerjee's long list of her “achievements”.
The rally, followed by a public meeting — organised in memory of 13 youths who were killed in police firing on July 21 in 1993 — today turned into political campaign as she took on all the opposition parties. Apart from CPI-M, which she said “did nothing in 35 yaers compared to her achievements in four years”, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) too also criticised for its “communal politics”.
“Politics of riot will not be allowed...Now even the CPI-M has bowed before the BJP. But we never surrendered.We will fight 2016 election on its own,” she said.
There were fresh poll promises as well. "In Jungalmahal (the formerly Naxal dominated areas) we give people rice for Rs 2 per kilo. We are surveying and doing things. She said old BPL [Below Poverty Line] cards have been replaced with social development scheme cards," said Banerjee."No poor or ordinary people should be left out. We will give Rs 2 rice to 2 crore people and Rs 3 rice to 3 crore people," she said. Mamata Banerjee, also tried to address some of the issues like violence in educational institutes and TMC leaders-run illegal syndicate involved in real estate business – for which the party has often been criticised by media and opposition. While at one hand she said, “Those who run syndicate have no place in TMC,” she also added, “Everyone should respect the teachers.”
Also this was the first time Mukul Roy was missing in action from TMC Martyr's Day event, and Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee was seen in forefront, perhaps indicating the changing power equation in TMC ahead of 2016 assembly election.
