Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) convened a meeting of its newly elected MLAs and senior leaders at Kalighat on Wednesday in Kolkata. Party chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, along with the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, addressed the gathering to chart the party’s course following its electoral setback.Addressing the meeting, the outgoing chief minister Mamata Banerjee struck a defiant tone, asserting her intent to continue in office while calling for a symbolic protest. She said that she would not be resigning from the CM position and rather wait for the governor’s dismissal. Urging her party members to carry out a protest against what she claimed to be a “black day,” she asked them to wear black clothes on the first day of the West Bengal assembly.“After the Bengal INDIA team is united now. I won’t resign. Let them dismiss me. I want this to be a black day. We have to be strong. On the first day of the Assembly, wear black clothes. Those who betrayed will be removed from the party. I am laughing. I defeated them morally. I am a free bird. I worked for all. We might have lost, but we will fight. HM and PM are directly involved,” she said, news agency ANI reported, citing TMC sources.She also alleged widespread malpractice and intimidation during the elections, claiming that several party functionaries were targeted.“Those who lost were forcefully defeated. I condemn West Bengal Police, CRPF, BJP-minded Chief Electoral Officer and ECI. More than 1500 party offices were hijacked. I was heckled and pushed. I was having chest pain. This was not an election but an atrocity,” Banerjee said during the meeting, sources added.Following the meeting, the party posted about it on its official X account. In a post on X, it said the Kalighat meeting aimed at motivating its leadership cadre. It stated that Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee “instilled in them clarity, confidence, conviction, and a renewed sense of purpose to continue the good fight.”The statement said, “Our Chairperson Mamata Banerjee and National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee addressed a meeting with our leaders in Kalighat, instilling in them clarity, confidence, conviction, and a renewed sense of purpose to continue the good fight. Whether in power or not, our commitment to serve the people of Bengal remains steadfast. We will continue to stand by them and resist BJP’s tyranny and oppression tooth and nail.”According to the statement, the meeting focused on reinforcing unity, responding to alleged irregularities during the polls, and outlining the party’s political strategy going forward.The TMC further asserted that it would continue to oppose what it described as “BJP’s tyranny and oppression tooth and nail,” signalling an aggressive opposition role even as it regroups after the election outcome.
