TMC student wing gears up for foundation day rally with Bengali pride theme

Kolkata, Aug 25 (PTI) With just three days to go for its annual foundation day rally, the TMC's student wing, the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP), is gearing up for a show of strength at Kolkata's Red Road, pitching Bengali identity at the centre of its political messaging ahead of next year's Assembly elections.

In a counter to what it calls the BJP's "anti-Bengali" stance, the TMCP leadership has announced that the August 28 programme will be themed around Bangla and ‘Bangaliana’ (Bengaliness), with an added focus on protesting the prospective Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which the ruling party has claimed is being used as a political tool.

The rally, to be held at the Gandhi statue on Mayo Road, is expected to witness the participation of nearly two lakh students, according to TMCP leaders.

The programme will be addressed by Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and the party's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

Political observers believe their speeches will offer key insights into the ruling party's youth and identity plank in the run-up to the 2026 polls.

"This time, the foundation day is not just a celebration. It is a platform to assert the dignity of the Bengali identity and resist attempts to divide the state on linguistic or cultural lines. The BJP's consistent insults to Bengali ethos will be countered from the streets," TMCP state president Trinankur Bhattacharya said.

The preparations are in full swing, with the stage construction starting on Sunday. A special slogan is set to be unveiled on the morning of August 28.

The programme will also feature performances by a team from Rabindra Bharati University and speeches by selected students, some of whom are expected to be groomed as future youth leaders of the party.

The event's official theme song, sung by Keshab Dey, has already been released.

The TMCP has, for the first time, undertaken state-wide tours and preparatory meetings across districts to mobilise students.

Trinankur Bhattacharya, along with TMCP's founding president and current TMC general secretary Baishwanar Chattopadhyay, has been personally overseeing the organisational build-up.

The Trinamool Chhatra Parishad was founded on August 28, 1998, shortly after the formation of the TMC itself.

The current political backdrop is charged, with the BJP sharpening its campaign against the TMC over corruption allegations, while the ruling party has accused the saffron camp of trying to dilute Bengal's cultural identity.

The ongoing SIR of the electoral rolls in Bihar has been flagged by the opposition parties including the TMC as an attempt to disenfranchise sections of voters ahead of the 2026 elections.

In this context, the TMCP's foundation day is being seen as both a mobilisation exercise and a political statement, with the party's student arm seeking to position itself as the cultural and ideological bulwark against what it calls the "BJP-imposed model of nationalism". PTI PNT NN