Kolkata (West Bengal): Trinamool Congress has just emerged from a smart result in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. It has upped its tally from 22 seats in 2019 to 29 seats, this time. As icing on the cake came the spectacular result of the by-polls to four Assembly seats last week, where the party has had a whitewash by winning all four seats.
There was a palpable anticipation within the workers and supporters of the party as the top leadership took to the dais today. They expected a victory rally of sorts, but got some very strong words of caution in return.
Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee and her nephew, the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, minced no words in telling the thousands of supporters and workers who had flocked to the Esplanade area of Kolkata today on the occasion of the party’s signature July 21 Martyr’s Day rally, that the TMC "will not tolerate misdeeds and nepotism within the party at any cost."
"The more we win, the more humble we have to be. I know that our results were not good in North Bengal. But, we need to engage with everyone. Bow down to those who have voted for the Trinamool Congress and reach out to those who have not. Tell them that we will be alongside, may what come,” Mamata said while addressing the rally.
Citing the example of Malda district, the West Bengal Chief Minister said, "There are two seats in Malda. One went to the BJP and the other to the Congress. I do know why the people could not believe in us. There is some gap in our reaching out to everyone. I am sure that in the 2026 Assembly elections, we will get mangoes as well as mango cakes from Malda."
With a strong word of caution to party workers, Mamata said, "If you want to do Trinamool, you have to take everyone along. Wherever you have won, go to every household and thank people. Work for the people. Remember, walking is better than driving around. It keeps the body and mind in good shape. In the villages, it is best to go about on a bicycle or a two-wheeler where you are visible to people; than going around in a big car."
Buttressing the issue of frequent complaints of highhandedness by Trinamool Congress strongmen across the state, the Trinamool supremo said amid a steady downpour of around ten minutes, "I don't want to receive any complaint against anyone. If even one complaint is received, the party will take strong and appropriate action. I want you to remain poor. By that I want to say, you don’t want to be greedy. You can survive very well with whatever you have got in your own house. I don’t want rich people in the party. I want sensible and responsible ones. Do you know why? It is because money comes and goes. But, there is no substitute for service."
For the thousands of leaders, workers and supporters of the Trinamool Congress, they knew that there would be only one more July 21 Martyr’s Day rally after today, before the party goes in for the 2026 Assembly elections. The next civic elections are due in 2027 and the rural or Panchayat polls will be due in 2028. In that sense, today’s rally could well be dubbed as a victory rally for the Trinamool Congress after its significantly increased tally in the Lok Sabha elections and becoming the third largest party in the Opposition bench of the Parliament.
But, Abhishek Banerjee was more direct in his caution to the workers and dropped ample indications of a possible reshuffle within the party.
"I had earlier said that the party will have a serious look at every worker's and leader's role in the elections. You have not seen me in any party-related work or public appearance for the past one and a half months. The reason is, I was busy reviewing our results and you will all see the results of that review within the next three months," the cautionary words formed the lion-share of Abhishek’' 24-minute address at the rally.
"Those who are in charge at panchayat and municipality levels, have to think about their performance as well as about the workers. It is wrong to think that one will get a ticket in the Panchayat and municipal polls and win and then when the Lok Sabha elections come, they will not perform as expected. The party will take note of everything and take action against them, no matter the stature of that leader or his closeness to any big leader. There is simply no scope for complacency," Abhishek had some really strong words for the TMC rank and file.
"In Panchayat elections, you will get a ticket and win. Then when the Assembly elections arrive, you want Mamata Banerjee to come and hold a rally or Abhishek Banerjee to come and hold a meeting and the party will win, this will not happen. As much as you work hard for your vote, you have to work hard for all votes," Abhishek said.
The Trinamool brass knows that the party is in some sticky grounds in the urban areas than the rural belts. The Lok Sabha election results have shown that BJP is in a leading position in 69 out of the 121 municipalities. And that includes wards in municipal corporation areas of Kolkata, Bidhannagar, Asansol and Siliguri. And the results will have a direct bearing on the Assembly seats, where the contests will be keener than the Lok Sabha elections.
The penultimate edition of Trinamool’s July 21 Martyr’s Day before the 2026 Bengal Assembly elections, had all the right ingredients. A buoyant party after some good show in the Lok Sabha and the by-polls, the presence of Akhilesh Yadav, the Samajwadi Party president, as a show of INDIA bloc unity a day before the Parliament’s Budget Session and the usual colourful presence of party supporters. Yet, the creases on the foreheads of both Mamata and Abhishek are far from being smoothened with the deep and visible cracks in Trinamool’s urban support base.
