Ahead of 2021 assembly elections Mamata Banerjee warns party against corruption and infighting

Addressing the district-level leaders, including district-unit presidents and select members of the state assembly and Parliament, in a three-hour-long meeting, Banerjee said the party should not get involved in the relief work and leave it to the administration, a Hindustan Times report said, quoting a TMC MP.

She also said the government will take strong action against those found corrupting the ration distribution system and the party would not bail out anyone found involved in the illegal act, the report added.

The Chief Minister also asked the party to ensure the Covid-19 and Cyclone Amphan relief reaches all victims, supporters of all political parties, it stated.

Setting the tone for the assembly elections due next year, the Trinamool supremo gave instructions to intensify political campaign on social media highlighting her government’s achievements in the past nine years, the report further said.

She stressed on reaching every door with the government's success stories and told the party leaders to avoid anything that may earn a bad name for TMC, it said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, which gave Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress government sleepless nights after it won 18 Lok Sabha seats last year, has already launched its 2021 election campaign with the punch line "Aar Noi Mamata’  which literally means "No more Mamata", calling on the people of West Bengal to topple the Mamata Banerjee government.

Union home minister Amit Shah is slated to address a virtual rally of the state BJP unit on June 9.

Taking note of the increased political activities of BJP in view of the assembly electiosn, Banerjee told her party that they, too, should intensify campaign on social media and improve public relations in their localities for which they should activate booth-level units.

She also warned party leaders against infighting and told none should speak against the party while staying in it. Her comment comes after several senior party leaders, including ministers, were found criticising their colleagues, in the past few months.