In a move timed with its ongoing confrontation with the Enforcement Directorate, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Saturday launched a powerful three-minute campaign song and music video. Titled 'Jotoi koro hamla, abar jitbe Bangla' (Attack as much you can, Bengal will win), the release aims to energize party workers for the crucial summer elections in West Bengal.
Echoes of Past Themes with a New Narrative
The new anthem resonates with the party's successful 2021 campaign theme, "Bangla nijer meye-kei chaye," which positioned Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as Bengal's own daughter. This time, however, the party is weaving the potent thread of "Bengali asmita" or pride into its core narrative. The video clearly outlines TMC's primary election planks, presenting the political fight as a mission to save Bengal's religious and linguistic plurality.
It highlights perceived attacks on religion and the Bengali language, while also featuring protests against alleged mistreatment of Bengali-speaking migrants. Senior TMC officials explained that the campaign is a strategic repositioning of their 2024 Lok Sabha election theme, which called for the BJP's ouster from the state.
Symbolism and Key Adversaries
The music video employs stark imagery to convey its message. Two powerful visuals are central to the narrative for party cadres. The first reinforces Mamata Banerjee's image as a fighter, dramatically morphing her into a Royal Bengal tigress in a split-second frame. The second clearly marks out the political opponents, using black-and-white images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
A Look Back at the 2021 Milestones
Senior TMC functionaries reflected on the unique challenges of the 2021 assembly elections, which inspired the current campaign's defiant tone. That contest was marked by several firsts for Mamata Banerjee. It was the first time she contested from a seat outside her traditional Kolkata base, choosing Nandigram. The party also faced large-scale, pre-poll defections for the first time, including the exit of two senior ministers led by Suvendu Adhikari.
Adding to the drama, Banerjee led the intense 50-day campaign from a wheelchair after suffering an injury in a car accident. Furthermore, in a significant strategic shift, she engaged poll strategist Prashant Kishor and his I-PAC team to recalibrate her political approach, a move insiders highlight as a landmark decision.
The release of this aggressive campaign song, set against the backdrop of the party's legal tussles, signals TMC's readiness for a high-stakes electoral battle framed around regional identity and resistance.
