‘If I can return after defeat…’: Mamata to TMC workers in Bankura that backed BJP

KOLKATA: Defeat in one election does not end a politician’s career, Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee told party workers in Bankura district on Wednesday, citing her own example in an effort to encourage demoralised party workers.

“We performed badly in recent elections in Bankura district. We lost both Lok Sabha seats and won only four (of 12) assembly seats. But that does not mean you will give up and sit at home. Look at your Didi (elder sister). If I can return after defeat, what stops you?” Banerjee said at a crowded meeting.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won eight of the 12 seats in the district. In the adjoining Purulia district, where Banerjee held a meeting on Monday, the BJP made similar inroads.

In 2021, Banerjee contested the Nandigram assembly seat in East Midnapore district against her aide-turned-adversary, BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, and lost by around 1,900 votes. To continue as chief minister, she contested again from her old seat, south Kolkata’s Bhawanipore, from where her cabinet colleague Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay won the state elections but let the chief minister contest. In the bypoll, Banerjee broke her past records at Bhawanipore, securing 71% of the votes and defeating her nearest rival, BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal by nearly 59,000 votes.

Banerjee’s remark was seen in the context of the TMC’s preparations for the crucial panchayat polls scheduled to be held sometime in mid-2023 and the Lok Sabha contest in 2024.

The Bengal chief minister has been touring the districts over the last month, holding administrative and political meetings.

Suvendu Adhikari mocked Banerjee for referring to her defeat on Wednesday.

Quoting Gautam Buddha, Adhikari tweeted: “Three things cannot be hidden. The sun, the moon and the truth. TMC workers are now left with no option but to seal their mouths.”