'Didi ke Bolo' gets huge response in first month
Kolkata: The 'Didi Ke Bolo' (Tell Didi) mass outreach programme of the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal has received a huge response in its first month with more that 10 lakh people reaching out to the party leadership and registering their grievances.
West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, who unveiled the programme, has thanked the people of the state for their "overwhelming response".
"In the last one month 10,00,350 people from across the state have reached out to Didi and her office through the Didi Ke Bolo platform with their words of appreciation for the initiative, suggestions for the government or the party and grievances that they would like the government or the party to address," said a statement issued by the TMC leadership.
Out of these 10 lakh odd people, about eight lakhs have reached out through telephone calls and around two lakhs through websites. Around 42 per cent were grievance calls, 32 per cent were suggestions, 22 per cent were appreciatory messages and four per cent were on miscellaneous issues.
Banerjee, who is referred to as Didi (elder sister) by the her party workers and supporters, had launched the 'Didi Ke Bolo' initiative on July 29, following TMC's setback in the Lok Sabha polls.
The TMC supremo said "I am humbled with the overwhelming response of the people on the @DidiKeBolo platform. In the last 30 days, over 10 lakh people have reached out to us with their words of appreciation for the initiative, valuable suggestions & grievances.
"I thank each one for their support and acknowledgement. We take note of their valuable suggestions and are committed to working overtime to resolve their grievances to an extent possible in an expeditious manner," Banerjee tweeted.
In the 30 days a total of 214 people in distress reached out to Banerejee's office via the platform. A total 161 cases were resolved on priority, a TMC statement said.
Hundreds of callers in personal distress due to ill health have been provided immediate assistance by the state health department and TMC leaders and ministers, the TMC said.
Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) mentored by poll strategist Prashant Kishor is crafting TMC's election strategy for the 2021 assembly polls.
It is the architect of Banerjee and TMC's mass outreach programme aimed at connecting with people at the grassroots or 'Trinamool', after which the party takes its name.
On the advise of Kishor, who was appointed by TMC after its Lok Sabha poll reverses, Banerjee had on July 29 launched a helpline number and a website www.didikebolo.com as a part of the outreach programme to enable people to have a direct interface with the party and its functionaries.
As part of the initiative close to 500 TMC MLAs and senior leaders have conducted outreach programmes in 1,022 villages. The leaders held 'Jan Sangjog Sabhas' during their visits in which they visited key influencers in the villages, interacted with the locals, heard their suggestions and grievances and spent the night in one of the workers home, the TMC statement said.
Under the outreach programme 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 TMC sources claimed that the public outreach intiative has proved to be a "double-edged sword" for the party as it has helped the leaders to reach out to the masses and at the same time enabled them to hear embarrassing queries and complaints of extortion, cut money and corruption.
The initiative has also raised some unwarranted questions for the TMC leadership, a party leader said on condition of anonymity.
"There have been calls with complaints of extortion, cut money and running of syndicates run with political patronage to supply building materials often of inferior quality at exorbitant prices. Some callers had complaints against certain leaders, especially those who have joined TMC from other political outfits post 2011 when the party came to power," he said.
Some of the party leaders had to face embarrassment while answering queries by people on cut money taken for giving subsidies granted under government schemes and the local leadership's arrogance, a party functionary said.
Reacting to the outreach, West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said the days of TMC rule in the state are numbered.
"Time is running out for TMC as people are getting ready to throw them out in the next assembly polls," Ghosh said.
In the last few years the saffron party has made deep inroads in Bengal and has emerged as the main challenger to the ruling TMC by pushing the Congress and the Left Front to distant third and fourth positions respectively.
The BJP in the general election this year bagged 18 of the 42 seats in the state, four less than the ruling TMC.
The TMC's tally came down from 34 in 2014 to 22 seats.
