Trinamul-backed posters in Cooch Behar snub Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra
Telegraph | 27 January 2024
Trinamul-backed posters on Thursday tried to tell Rahul Gandhi, who entered Bengal with his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra on Thursday, that Mamata Banerjee was enough to take on the BJP in Bengal.
As the Congress leader entered Bengal via the Bengal-Assam border and headed for Cooch Behar town, scores of people lined up along the route in places like Chilakhana Bazar, Dauaguri and Chakchaka, holding posters that decried the entry of the Yatra in Bengal and reposed faith in Mamata’s ability to fight the BJP in the state.
State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury featured in many posters.
Although the posters in Bengali and English displayed in around 15 places bore the name of Cooch Beharer Nagarik Brinda (Cooch Behar residents), multiple Trinamul sources said that the party was behind the posters.
Those in Bengali read “Banglay vote bhenge, BJP-r poa baro/Je kono pradesh jao, Sudhu Bangla ke chharo” (Dividing votes in Bengal and helping the BJP, Go to any other state, just spare Bengal), and “BJP ke dichcho sujog, Ohey babu Adhir/Mone rekho, noy sobai, boba, kala, bodhir (Adhir babu, you are giving space to the BJP, Don’t forget, all of us aren’t deaf and mute).
The English posters were more direct. They had only one message: “Didi is enough for Bengal.”
Cooch Behar Trinamul leaders, asked about the posters, said Rahul should understand that his party didn't enjoy much support in most parts of Bengal.
“Still, our party supremo (Mamata Banerjee) announced we are ready to part with two seats (Behrampore and Malda South) that the Congress won in 2019. Today, we wanted to tell Rahul Gandhi that he should stop listening to state (Congress) leaders as it is impacting the INDIA bloc,” said a Trinamul veteran. “Also, the Congress should understand that Mamata Banerjee... has the reputation of being the most prominent anti-BJP leader.”
Chowdhury's criticism of the Trinamul state government harms the INDIA bloc and helps the BJP in Bengal, Trinamul leader Kunal Ghosh said.
“Mamata Banerjee named the INDIA alliance.... She has acted as an ideal ally. But the Congress hasn’t done so. The party didn’t even take her suggestion (that the Congress should contest in 300 Lok Sabha seats and leave the rest of the seats for the allies),” Ghosh added.