Kolkata: In a bid to counter the Trinamool Congress (TMC)'s "Didi Ke Bolo" (Tell Didi) mass outreach programme, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s West Bengal unit is all set to launch "Cha Chakra" — get together over a cup of tea — to reach out to the people and spread the party's message with an eye on the next assembly polls.
Although West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh denied the initiative that would begin from September was meant to outsmart TMC'S digital platform for masses, he said it is aimed at reaching out to the people in a more effective manner. "We believe in reaching out to the masses. So from September this year we would launch this 'Cha Chakra' as our mass outreach programme. Earlier, only I used to do it. Now, other leaders will also take part," Ghosh told reporters.
When asked if the proposed programme was meant to counter TMC's mass outreach project launched on advise of poll strategist Prashant Kishor, Ghosh replied in negative. "A cadre-based party like the BJP doesn't need help of hired professionals to reach out to the masses," he said.
"Generally every morning I go for a morning walk and while returning I have tea at a local shop and speak to the locals. I have been doing this everyday for last several years. I may be at Coochbehar in north Bengal or Kakdwip in south Bengal. But my routine remains the same. So now the party has decided to make it a programme and launch it officially," he said.
While reacting to the development, TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee, mocked the saffron party for trying to copy Trinamool Congress new initiative for a better connect with the people. "They are trying to copy us. Let them do that. We are not bothered. But it won't bear any fruitful results for them as they don't have a mass leader like Mamata Banerjee in Bengal," Chatterjee said.
As advised by Kishor and his firm 'Indian Political Action Committee', appointed by the TMC after its Lok Sabha poll reverses, Banerjee had on July 29 launched a helpline number — 9137091370 — and a website www.didikebolo.com as a part of "DidiKeBolo" to enable people to have a direct interface with the party functionaries.
She had also unveiled the massive public outreach programme under which over 1,000 party leaders will visit 10,000 villages over the next 100 days to understand people's problems and redress their grievances.
The BJP which staged a stupendous show in the recently concluded general election by winning 18 out of a total of 42 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal, only four less than the TMC's tally of 22, is leaving no stone unturned to unseat Banerjee from power in the 2021 assembly polls.
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