Trinamul Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee today gave a clarion call to the Oppositions to unite and take the BJP head-on in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Speaking at the Trinamul Congress’ organisational elections today at Netaji Indoor stadium, Miss Banerjee, who was unanimously re-elected the party’s chairperson, said, “if Trinamul can defeat the CPI-M after 34 years it can also defeat the BJP. They only thrive on money, CBI and ED.”

Asking the Opposition parties to unite against the Fascist forces at the Centre, she said: “The moment opposition leaders raise their voices, the Centre will use Pegasus to target them, snoop on their phones. everyone’s phone is tapped. right from Abhishek Banerjee and Prashant Kishore.” She also lashed out at the Centre for harassing a sick Anubrata Mondal through CBI as there is election in some municipalities in Birbhum.

In hard-hitting words, Miss Banerjee said: “There is one ‘Ghorar Pal’ at Raj Bhavan. He keeps claiming that there is violence in Bengal, maybe he is watching from his binoculars. I want to ask him, what is going on in Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat. Can’t he see that?” “I want to say a lot about him, but I control myself. Will the Governor give us instructions now? He, who hasn’t even fought a councillors’ election, is now directing the state government to follow his instructions. No Governor can call government officials without taking permission from the Chief Minister. Day in, day out, he is summoning the Chief Secretary, the Commissioner of Police, the DG, the Home Secretary. Every day he keeps ordering food from Taj Bengal If given a chance, we will show what we can do,” she said.

“There are assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, we will support Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party. On 8 February, I will have a meeting with Akhilesh and campaign for him and his party,” she said. She said the Trinamul Congress will contest in a number of states. Goa was just a start. Within four months in Tripura Trinamul Congress got 24 per cent vote share and is now the main Opposition in Tripura, she said.

“If we come to power in Goa and next year in Tripura, unlike BJP we will introduce various social schemes like in West Bengal for the benefit of the people,” she said. But in the same breath she asked all her party leader s and workers to concentrate in their constituencies. This is the home ground of Trinamul Congress.

Like the Congress started from Uttar Pradesh, BJP from Gujarat, Trinamul Congress had started from West Bengal, she said. Trinamul started as West Bengal Trinamul Congress. “Slowly and steadily, we opened up party units in different states and in 2016, the Election Commission accorded us the status of a national party. After that, TMC became All India Trinamul Congress,” she said. “We will have a AITC working committee meeting in Delhi soon, where our constitution, our economic policies will be made public,” she declared.