Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee is all set to host a mega Martyrs’ Day rally in Kolkata on July 21 which will be attended by Samajwadi Party chief and fellow INDIA bloc leader Akhilesh Yadav.
TMC observes Martyrs’ Day to commemorate the sacrifice by 13 people who died in police firing during a movement demanding voter cards with photo identity in 1993. Since then, Banerjee has made it a tradition to mark the day.
As per Trinamool insiders, the rally will be on a bigger scale this time and Yadav’s attendance will send across a message of unity within the INDIA bloc. Sources said the INDIA bloc is planning to proceed in full steam for which Banerjee is in constant touch with alliance partners and is expected to go to Delhi next week. This rally will also set the tone for a concerted attack on the NDA during the soon-to-begin Budget Session.
The party will also mark the day as ‘Vijay Divas’ to celebrate their victory in the Lok Sabha elections. Party insiders believe this time, there will be a record crowd at the rally and all eyes will be on Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee who was abroad for eye treatment but is back in the country now.
Political experts said Banerjee’s focus now is on the 2026 polls. The party will face a 15-year incumbency in 2026 due to which the chief minister is putting emphasis on good governance. She will also provide a roadmap for party workers.
Banerjee will also advice party men to shun reliance on local strongmen, given how their misdeeds tarnished the TMC’s image after Lok Sabha polls.
On the other hand, the BJP will observe July 21 as ‘Democracy Killing Day’, with party leader Suvendu Adhikari saying they will burn the effigy of Trinamool leader Firhad Hakim for his controversial statement on conversion to Islam.
“There is no democracy is Bengal. We will raise our voice against that. What Hakim said on Islam is not acceptable and that’s why we will burn his effigy across Bengal,” he said.
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