TMC plans twin-front campaign from March 24

With barely a month left for the first phase of the West Bengal assembly elections, the ruling TMC is preparing to unleash a twin-front campaign blitz led by party supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in north Bengal and her nephew Abhishek in the southern districts, a strategy aimed at countering the BJP across two distinct electoral battlegrounds.

Party sources said Mamata Banerjee will formally launch the campaign in north Bengal, a region long regarded as a BJP stronghold, with a mega rally at the Alipurduar Parade Ground on March 24. The chief minister is also scheduled to address meetings the same day at Matigara in Darjeeling district and Maynaguri in Jalpaiguri.

The move signals a clear attempt by the TMC leadership to wrest back political ground in the northern belt, where the BJP had made deep inroads in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and retained a strong presence through the 2021 assembly elections.

Political observers note that despite the TMC’s improved performance in the 2024 parliamentary polls, north Bengal continues to remain a key theatre of contest, with the BJP hoping to consolidate its foothold among Rajbanshi, tribal and migrant communities.

“Mamatadi herself leading the charge from Alipurduar sends a message that the party is taking the BJP’s challenge in north Bengal seriously,” a senior TMC leader said.

The chief minister is expected to leave for north Bengal after addressing a workers’ conference in her own constituency, Bhabanipur, on Sunday evening, where she is likely to outline the party’s booth-level strategy for the upcoming polls.

The meeting at Ahindra Mancha in Chetla will bring together booth workers and local leadership of the Bhabanipur assembly segment, including state TMC president Subrata Bakshi, Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, South Kolkata district president Debasish Kumar and councillors from the area.

The mobilisation assumes significance as Bhabanipur, traditionally considered Mamata Banerjee’s political backyard, has emerged as a closely watched constituency after the BJP fielded Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari against her.

Party insiders said the leadership is keen to ensure there is “no room for complacency” despite Bhabanipur’s reputation as a TMC stronghold.

The stakes have risen further following the EC’s SIR of electoral rolls, which reportedly led to the deletion of around 47,000 names from the constituency’s voter list.

TMC sources said Banerjee has already held multiple meetings at her Kalighat residence with booth-level agents and organisational coordinators to assess the impact of the revision and streamline the party’s ground mobilisation.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, TMC candidate Mala Roy had secured a lead of about 6,500 votes in Bhabanipur, but the BJP had surged ahead in five municipal wards, a factor that has prompted the party to assign specific responsibilities to senior leaders for key wards ahead of the assembly battle.

While the chief minister spearheads the campaign in the north, Abhishek Banerjee, the party’s national general secretary and widely seen as the organisation’s chief campaign strategist, will kick off his campaign from Patharpratima in South 24 Parganas on the same day.

From there, Abhishek is expected to move swiftly into the politically volatile Medinipur belt, addressing rallies in Daspur, Keshiary and Narayangarh on March 25 before holding a workers’ meeting in Nandigram.

The Nandigram visit carries symbolic and political weight.

The constituency had emerged as the epicentre of the 2021 assembly election when Mamata Banerjee was defeated by Adhikari in a high-voltage contest that had come to symbolise the TMC-BJP rivalry in Bengal.

This time, the TMC has fielded Pabitra Kar, a former associate of Adhikari who recently switched camps and joined the ruling party in the presence of Abhishek Banerjee, setting the stage for another closely watched contest.

Political analysts believe Abhishek’s early focus on the Medinipur region reflects the party’s effort to blunt the BJP’s organisational strength in the Jangalmahal and coastal belts.

“Abhishek’s style of campaigning is more organisational and cadre-driven. He tends to focus on consolidating the booth network and energising the grassroots machinery,” a political analyst said.

Sources said the Diamond Harbour MP will also travel to north Bengal later in the month, with plans to address rallies and roadshows in at least nine assembly segments across the region on March 26, 28 and 31.

The staggered campaign schedule, with Mamata focusing on the northern districts and Abhishek covering southern Bengal, is being seen within the party as a strategic division of political turf ahead of what the TMC calls a battle to retain power for a fourth consecutive term.

The election assumes high stakes for all sides.

While the TMC is banking on its welfare-driven governance model and Mamata Banerjee’s personal popularity, the BJP is attempting to convert its parliamentary gains into a broader electoral consolidation across the state.

With the first phase of polling scheduled on April 23 across 152 assembly constituencies, the coming weeks are expected to witness an intense campaign battle, one that will test the TMC’s organisational muscle against the BJP’s growing political footprint in Bengal.