KOLKATA: Five commandments and an instruction, laced with a stimulating pep talk. Two days after she announced an impressive list of candidates with a generous smattering of glamour, Mamata Banerjee on Friday held forth the rules of election battle to her poll soldiers. And the message was loud and clear - stick to the dictates without being too adventurous.
On Friday evening, the crammed Harish Chatterjee Street turned into a star-gazing alley as hundreds descended to catch a glimpse of the VIP candidates. All of the Lok Sabha aspirants were present barring screen heartthrob Dev and historian Sugata Bose. The likes of Moon Moon Sen, Tapas Pal, Satabdi Ray and Baichung Bhutia drew loud gasps from the crowd. Many were left disappointed with Dev's absence from the meeting. The star's mother was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai.
But behind the closed doors at chief minister's Kalighat residence, it was serious business. Mamata made it clear to her election team - that includes an unprecedented 27 first-time contenders - that their reputation wasn't enough to sail them through. They must stick to a list of five important guidelines, candidates were told all along the one-and-a-half-hour meeting. Logistics of every contest will be decided and controlled by the party. Candidates must abide by them and work in coordination with either the district party president or the convenor. No off-the-cuff remarks, which could embarrass the party, will be allowed. Contestants were asked to remember that Trinamool is a poor people's party. So, contestants must maintain a low-profile and meet as many people as they possibly could in the run-up to the polls.
With summer setting in, candidates should start their campaign early in the day, return to their bases for a longish afternoon break and take to the streets again once the sun has set. The guidelines were followed by a task that has been given to each candidate. They must memorize a list of the work done by the party in the last two-and-half years and spell them out at as many public meetings as they can.
The idea of holding the session was to give the political greenhorns a taste of ground reality, said Trinamool insiders. It was felt necessary since the candidate list looked raw and inexperienced. Several political heavyweights were ignored in the districts in favour of star candidates. "The purpose of the meeting was to build coordination between candidates and the party leadership at the district-level," said Satabdi Roy. Asked if she was in touch with Birbhum district president Anubrata Mandal, the actor maintained that they had regular interactions. "Even today, I spoke to him," she said.
Baichung Bhutia said that he planned to meet Bimal Guring in Darjeeling, the constituency from where he is contesting. "I hope he will support us for the sake of Darjeeling and the hills," said the former footballer. In a meeting in Darjeeling earlier in the day, he faced wrath of party workers in the Hills for "inviting" Gurung for a possible alliance.
Meanwhile, Trinamool has decided to send observers to constituencies from where the party has never won but stands a realistic chance this time. An observer will be sent to Darjeeling as well.(TOI)
On Friday evening, the crammed Harish Chatterjee Street turned into a star-gazing alley as hundreds descended to catch a glimpse of the VIP candidates. All of the Lok Sabha aspirants were present barring screen heartthrob Dev and historian Sugata Bose. The likes of Moon Moon Sen, Tapas Pal, Satabdi Ray and Baichung Bhutia drew loud gasps from the crowd. Many were left disappointed with Dev's absence from the meeting. The star's mother was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai.
But behind the closed doors at chief minister's Kalighat residence, it was serious business. Mamata made it clear to her election team - that includes an unprecedented 27 first-time contenders - that their reputation wasn't enough to sail them through. They must stick to a list of five important guidelines, candidates were told all along the one-and-a-half-hour meeting. Logistics of every contest will be decided and controlled by the party. Candidates must abide by them and work in coordination with either the district party president or the convenor. No off-the-cuff remarks, which could embarrass the party, will be allowed. Contestants were asked to remember that Trinamool is a poor people's party. So, contestants must maintain a low-profile and meet as many people as they possibly could in the run-up to the polls.
With summer setting in, candidates should start their campaign early in the day, return to their bases for a longish afternoon break and take to the streets again once the sun has set. The guidelines were followed by a task that has been given to each candidate. They must memorize a list of the work done by the party in the last two-and-half years and spell them out at as many public meetings as they can.
The idea of holding the session was to give the political greenhorns a taste of ground reality, said Trinamool insiders. It was felt necessary since the candidate list looked raw and inexperienced. Several political heavyweights were ignored in the districts in favour of star candidates. "The purpose of the meeting was to build coordination between candidates and the party leadership at the district-level," said Satabdi Roy. Asked if she was in touch with Birbhum district president Anubrata Mandal, the actor maintained that they had regular interactions. "Even today, I spoke to him," she said.
Baichung Bhutia said that he planned to meet Bimal Guring in Darjeeling, the constituency from where he is contesting. "I hope he will support us for the sake of Darjeeling and the hills," said the former footballer. In a meeting in Darjeeling earlier in the day, he faced wrath of party workers in the Hills for "inviting" Gurung for a possible alliance.
Meanwhile, Trinamool has decided to send observers to constituencies from where the party has never won but stands a realistic chance this time. An observer will be sent to Darjeeling as well.(TOI)