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After a landslide victory in the Assembly elections in West Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress is trying to spread its wings in different states, with an eye on the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
As a part of its expansion programme, the party has decided to virtually telecast the speech of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the occasion of Martyrs' Day on Wednesday in various languages, and in different states. Trinamool Congress observes July 21 as Martyrs' Day every year to remember the 13 persons who were killed at a Youth Congress rally in Kolkata in 1993. "The Chief minister will address the people virtually for the second consecutive year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In West Bengal, the speech will be aired in Bengali, while the translated versions in various languages will be telecast in different states. "The speech will be telecast on giant screens across West Bengal, and for the first time, also in other states like Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Punjab, Tripura and poll-bound Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh," a senior Trinamool leader said. Trinamool Congress, after its victory in the recent Assembly polls, had decided to reach out to the people across the nation. The Chief Minister's nephew and MP Abhishek Banerjee, after taking charge as the party's all-India General Secretary, had vowed to spread Trinamool's wings in other states to achieve a pan-India presence. "(Narendra) Modi and (Amit) Shah had taken the lead in BJP's campaign during the West Bengal elections. Now, it's our turn to spread Didi's (Banerjee's) message in Gujarat and other states," the Trinamool leader said. The party is also planning similar programmes in Uttar Pradesh, which will also go to the polls next year. Preparations are in their final stages in Delhi, Punjab and Tripura where Banerjee's Martyrs' Day speech will be aired through giant screens. From Agartala to Amritsar, arrangements are being made across cities for the Trinamool chief to reach out to a pan-national audience. The party is also determined to make inroads in down South as graffitis portraying Banerjee as 'Amma' (mother) are already dotting the walls of Tamil Nadu. Banerjee has said that she will visit New Delhi for a few days after the July 21 programme to meet "old and new friends". She also plans to go to the Parliament, which will be in session then, and hold parleys with the senior leaders. She herself has admitted that she has plans to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind if she gets an appointment, besides having a meeting with interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Her impending Delhi visit comes at a time when the buzz of a renewed push for a rainbow coalition of opposition parties to challenge the BJP in the 2024 general elections is doing rounds in the national capital. Party sources said that the Trinamool has planned to expand organisationally in Tripura and has already started the process of bringing some eminent personalities of the northeastern state into its fold. A senior Trinamool leader said, "We are already in negotiations with some important leaders in Tripura. Changes are visible in the state and we will soon come out with a specific report (on its plan of action in Tripura). "Our journey at the national level will make a fresh start with the July 21 Martyrs' Day virtual rally." --IANS sbg/arm ( 570 Words) 2021-07-20-20:10:02 (IANS)
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