Sources said Mamata Banerjee will be in north Bengal from January 28 to February 1 and will be holding meetings in various districts, including Congress strongholds after the two parties parted ways from their electoral alliance in the state. File pic/ANI
The chief minister herself being a woman and several schemes like Lakshmir Bhandar, Kanyashree, and Rupashree have helped the Trinamool Congress win over a large section of the female electorate in the state, said observers
West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress’s women’s wing announced on Thursday that it will hold 34 rallies on January 30 across all organisational districts to mark the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Party insiders said that through the campaign, the TMC will register its protest against the BJP-led central government’s “disrespectful attitude towards women”.
Trinamool Congress Mahila Samiti head Chandrima Bhattacharya said, “34 rallies will be conducted across Bengal on January 30 to pay our respects to the Father of the Nation Gandhiji. We have been noticing that time and again BJP leaders disrespect women, especially the only woman chief minister in the entire country, Mamata Banerjee.”
In West Bengal, 48.5% of the voters are women and in the 2021 assembly polls, a large number of them cast their ballot for “Didi”, which helped the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC retain power with an impressive win.
Observers said Mamata’s promised Lakshmir Bhandar scheme to provide a monthly allowance to women clicked with the electorate.
Other schemes like Kanyashree (seeking to improve the status and well-being of girls, specifically those from socio-economically disadvantaged families) and Rupashree (that provides a one-time financial grant of Rs. 25,000 for economically stressed families at the time of their adult daughters’ marriages) have also helped the TMC win over female voters. TMC insiders say the chief minister herself being a woman makes the party always confident of getting the support of women voters.
With the Lok Sabha polls nearing, Trinamool has decided to carry out rallies focused on women, said sources.
They added that the party will be highlighting issues like the Bilkis Bano case, the uncertainty about the women’s reservation bill, etc.
Chandrima Bhattacharya said, “They are trying to fool women by passing the women’s reservation bill in the Lok Sabha. We would like to question them on when it will be implemented: in 2024, 2029, or 2034. They will not be able to answer because the census has not been done yet. So, there is no delimitation yet. What seats will be reserved have not been identified.”
She also questioned the hurry to pass the bill before the elections and said it was only to mislead women voters.
Sources said the TMC will also highlight various comments of BJP leaders that “defamed or attacked” Mamata Banerjee.
According to them, Mamata Banerjee will be in north Bengal from January 28 to February 1 and will be holding meetings in various districts, including Congress strongholds after the two parties parted ways from their electoral alliance in the state.
Sources said that the BJP too has realised that it failed to draw women voters in the 2021 election and is devising strategies to change that ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
