Sensing a fall in clout for Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress has now resorted to pressurising wedding venue owners to promote and campaign for Trinamool Congress by playing TMC party theme songs instead of wedding music, reports India Today.
According to a report in India Today, the Trinamool Congress has instructed owners of marriage venues to play the campaign songs of the party in the events. Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress has allegedly instructed them to play these songs in between the shehnai music.
In one such incident in a community hall in Jadavpur, the Trinamool party had instructed the owners of the venue to play songs that celebrate different projects launched by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
“While renting out we told the hosts about the condition. Those who agree to it get the banquet hall. After all, we don’t want to take any risks,” said an owner to India Today.
Reportedly, the party workers of the CPIM also revealed that how Trinamool Congress controls community halls in the area. According to CPIM workers, the wedding venue owners do not have a choice and are under compulsion to do whatever Trinamool Congress asks them to do. They added that playing TMC songs during the wedding is not surprising.
The report states that it is not limited to weddings. Even several Durga Puja committees had played Mamata Banerjee’s new album. Shockingly, the local police had distributed the cassettes and asked the puja committees to play them.
Apart from music, Mamata Banerjee’s promotions have also reached eatery shops as some of them in South Kolkata are selling food items like masala muri and fish fry by naming it after Mamata Banerjee. Reportedly, one of the owners of an eatery shop said that “Didi” in the menu card is an innovative way to reach out to voters, who know both these items are Mamata Banerjee’s favourite.
“Casting vote is just like celebrating a festival like IPL matches and World Cup matches. If we can have cocktails and mocktails named after IPL teams, why can’t we have recipes dedicated to polls?” the owner asked.
The entry of BJP into West Bengal has changed the political equation in the state, which has pushed Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress into a corner. Desperate to secure as many seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Trinamool Congress seems to be engaging such desperate measures to influence voters.