In a move that coincides with its ongoing confrontation with the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Saturday unveiled a powerful new campaign song for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections. The three-minute music video, titled "Jotoi koro hamla, abar jitbe Bangla" (Attack as much you can, Bengal will win), seeks to galvanize the party's base by invoking Bengali pride and framing the upcoming battle as a defense of the state's identity.
Song Weaves Bengali Pride and Political Narrative
The campaign anthem is a direct successor to the party's popular 2021 slogan, "Bangla nijer meye-kei chaye" (Bengal wants its own daughter). It strategically weaves the concept of "Bengali asmita" or pride into its core narrative. The video outlines the TMC's primary campaign themes, highlighting perceived attacks on religion and the Bengali language. It repeatedly emphasizes that the political struggle is about saving Bengal's plurality in both religious beliefs and personal choices.
Protests against alleged attacks on Bengali-speaking migrants in other states also find a place in the video, broadening its appeal to address sub-national sentiment. Senior party leaders pointed out that two powerful visual cues define the campaign's message for workers.
Visual Symbolism: Tigress Mamata vs Modi-Shah Duo
The first is the reinforcement of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's fighter image, often compared to a Bengal tigress. This is dramatically underscored by a split-second visual where she transforms into a Royal Bengal tiger, symbolizing ferocity and protection.
The second is the deliberate positioning of black-and-white images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. This stark imagery leaves no ambiguity about who the party identifies as the principal adversary in the forthcoming electoral contest. The clear "us versus them" narrative is designed to consolidate anti-BJP votes.
Repositioning the 2024 Lok Sabha Battle Cry
Senior TMC netas revealed that the campaign theme for the 2026 state polls is a strategic repositioning of its 2024 Lok Sabha campaign slogan: "Jonogoner Gorjon, Banglay BJPer Bisorjon" (The roar of the people will lead to the BJP's ouster from Bengal). This slogan was first successfully deployed ahead of the crucial 2021 assembly elections.
A party leader reflected that the 2021 contest was marked by several unprecedented challenges for Mamata Banerjee. It was the first time she contested from a seat outside Kolkata, choosing Nandigram. The election also witnessed large-scale, last-minute defections, including the exit of two senior ministers led by Suvendu Adhikari, who is now the Leader of the Opposition.
Furthermore, Banerjee campaigned for 50 days from a wheelchair due to an injury, and for the first time, she relied on a poll strategist to recalibrate her political approach. Despite these hurdles, her victory cemented the party's resilience, a spirit the new song aims to recapture.
The release of this assertive campaign anthem, directly juxtaposed with the ED's searches at the premises of I-PAC, the political consultancy firm linked to the TMC, signals the party's intent to frame central agency actions as political attacks. It sets the stage for a fiercely contested election where regional identity and resistance against the BJP will be the central pillars of the Trinamool Congress's campaign.
