On Shahid Dibas or the Martyrs’ Day, a virtual event was organised under Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal. Opposition party leaders from Akali Dal, Samajwadi Party, National Congress Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Aam Aadmi Party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Telangana Rashtra Samithi, Shiv Sena and Congress were present. The posters and hoardings this year’s Martyrs’ day were set up all the way from West Bengal to Tripura and from Gujarat to Tamil Nadu.
For the past 28 years, Mamata has been celebrating Martyrs’ Day in memory of 13 of her workers killed during a demonstration in Bengal on July 21.
Mamata Banerjee, who is rarely seen delivering speeches in Hindi in any programs in West Bengal, made fair use of both Hindi and English in her speech in the event.
With opposition leaders present in the program, Mamata struck the opportunity and proposed to convene a joint meeting of opposition parties in front of senior leaders next week. At the same time, She expressed her desire to attend this meeting.
There is speculation whether Mamata Banerjee can become the face of the United Opposition in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
However, at her Wednesday address, Mamata Banerjee clearly said that she is only a worker and will follow the instructions of senior leaders. But a part of the speech is being speculated to be a hint to Mamata’s move for the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.
In the program, Mamata appealed to Sharad Pawar and P. Chidambaram to convene a meeting on the issue, that is building a joint front in opposition of the centre, in Delhi from July 27 to 29. Mamta herself will also be on a tour of Delhi during that time.
At her address, Mamta said, “I do not know what will happen in 2024? But preparations have to be made for this from now on. The more time we waste, the more it will be delayed. All the parties should come together to form a front against the Bharatiya Janata Party.”
Though BJP fought the elections of West Bengal with full force, Mamata Banerjee’s strategy broke the BJP’s Sonar Bangla dream.
The BJP is looking a little weaker than before and Mamta has set an example that if you come down to the ground and fight a one-to-one battle, overcoming the Modi-Shah duo is a possibility. The Trinamool Congress party might be amped by their victory in Bengal, making BJP look weak discouraged as compared to earlier.
During the West Bengal Assembly elections, except the Congress and the Left, the big faces from the opposition like Akhilesh Yadav or Tejashwi Yadav or Sharad Pawar, all had supported Mamta.
Mamta’s party is limited to Bengal, but intending to make her identity outside Bengal, she got the posters of Martyrs Day program outside Bengal as well. She addressed the public in Hindi and English instead of Bengali, which was also broadcast live outside West Bengal in Delhi, Gujarat, Tripura, Bihar, UP and Tamil Nadu.