TMC youth and student wings, not minority cell, preparing for Dec 6 Solidarity Day rally

Kolkata, Nov 18 (PTI) The TMC will organise its December 6 Solidarity Day rally with the party's youth and student wings placed in charge of preparations, marking a significant shift from the minority cell which has traditionally overseen the programme held annually to protest the Babri Masjid demolition.

This year's rally is scheduled to take place near the Mahatma Gandhi statue on Mayo Road in central Kolkata, where the party is planning a major mobilisation.

The leadership, sources said, wants an extensive turnout as the event comes at a time when the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has triggered political tension across the state.

The responsibility for organising the rally has been handed over to the TMC youth and student wings.

Youth wing president Sayani Ghosh has already conducted preparatory meetings and is coordinating with different district units to ensure a large gathering.

The Minority Cell, headed by MLA Mosaraf Hossain, has not been included in the organisational structure for this year's programme.

TMC state vice-president Jay Prakash Majumdar said the decision was purely organisational and should not be viewed through an electoral lens.

"The programme would be organised through the student and youth wings," he said.

The shift has triggered mixed responses within the party. One section sees it as an attempt by the leadership to widen the programme's positioning and avoid projecting it as solely a minority-focused event ahead of the Assembly polls. They believe that shifting the responsibility to the youth-student wings will help the party emphasise that Solidarity Day belongs to the entire organisation.

Another section believes the decision reflects dissatisfaction with the current state of the minority cell.

Though Hossain was appointed to lead the unit recently, the organisational performance is reportedly not satisfactory, prompting the leadership to hand control of the high-profile rally to a more active wing of the party.

The youth and student wings, they argue, have stronger mobilisation capabilities and are better equipped to handle a large-scale event.

Party insiders said the TMC wants to ensure that this year's rally sends out a strong political message, given the BJP's sustained Hindutva push and the heightened political stakes ahead of next year's elections.

Senior TMC leaders are expected to attend the rally, and the youth and student teams have been instructed to aim for an unprecedented turnout.

Before the formation of the TMC, similar December 6 protest programmes were organised by the Youth Congress, where Mamata Banerjee, as its then-president, used to spearhead the events. PTI PNT NN