JOIN USTrinamool’s campaign for 2024 Lok Sabha to subtly project alternative narrative
To offset the bad publicity that has haunted the All India Trinamool Congress over the past couple of months, the ruling party in West Bengal is coming up with ideas to project an alternative strong narrative.
Trinamool, like its opponents, is gearing up for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. To do so, the party has to overcome the tainted perception and formulate political ideologies that will resonate with the Bengali public.
Luckily, a set of events might have eased things for Trinamool. The yearly Durga Puja celebrations have been ushered in a month in advance. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led a mega procession through the city on September 1, with representatives of clubs and committees who organise the Puja. The procession, although officially was to commemorate UNESCO adding ‘Durga Puja in Kolkata’ to the ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’ list, was also a timely gift for the party to divert public’s attention from all the controversies regarding its leaders.
Leading opponents of the Trinamool alleged that the party indulged in appeasing a certain section of voters through this procession. The event, however, contradicted the critics and showed that people with different beliefs could project a cultural unity.
In August, the party launched a three-day digital campaign, ‘My Idea for India at 75’—one parallel to the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign. Party leaders took to social media to explain their take on nationalism. In a statement, the party mentioned: “The #MyIdeaForIndiaAt75 campaign focuses on loving one’s country, rather than demeaning that of others….”
On August 31, Banerjee, while alleging (political) interference in newsrooms, praised the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and said that there were gentlemen in the organisation who didn’t support the Bharatiya Janata Party—albeit in a certain context. Although her mention of RSS had varying reactions, it also told the voters how she saw the BJP as a political party, separate from the Sangh.
On Monday, while attending an official Teacher’s Day event, the Trinamool chief requested that students be given classes on “moral character building”. Through this, the chief minister managed to convey that the party takes care of strong traditional values that form a part of its ideology.
Trinamool also has the pulse of the netizen voters. With an active social media presence, Trinamool and its leaders always use Twitter as a platform to voice their opinions. The party has run innovative campaigns to gather public interest to keep up with ‘trends’, helping itself to stay relevant in the public eye.