The initiative has separate ‘buckets’ for all the government schemes and multiple trackers to keep an eye on the number of issues that have been resolved so far and the time taken for their resolution.

Kolkata: Upon completion of 100 days of the “Didi ke Bolo” campaign, politicial strategist Prashant Kishor will review the Trinamool Congress’ outreach initiative on November 7.

The campaign was launched on July 29, 2019, over two months after the TMC’s dismal performance in the Lok Sabha elections in May.

West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee will chair the review meeting, which will be held at Trinamool Bhawan where all the party leaders including MLAs, MPs and district presidents have been asked to be present.

Banerjee will evaluate the report following which, she will meet Kishor along with the district chief, MLAs and MPs to discuss issues and exchange views.

As per figures shared by the party, more than 30 lakh people have made calls to share their grievances.

“Prashant Kishor will hold the meeting on November 7. With ‘Didi Ke Bolo’ campaign we managed to understand basic problems faced by the people at the grassroot level. Also, those who left us and joined the BJP, joined the TMC again. Therefore, some of the municipalities taken over by the BJP is now under the control of the TMC,” a senior TMC leader said.

However, the impact of the campaign can be gauged in the upcoming bypolls in Karimpur, Kaliagunj and Kharagpur Sadar seats on November 25 as it will be act as a litmus test for the TMC, he added.

The last date for nomination is November 6 and counting will be held on November 28. The Election Commission has decided to use EVMs and VVPATs in all the polling stations.

The ‘Didi Ke Bolo’ campaign is not confined to mere interactions with the Chief Minister, but a medium to track the effectiveness of the government’s schemes. The initiative has separate ‘buckets’ for all the government schemes and multiple trackers to keep an eye on the number of issues that have been resolved so far and the time taken for their resolution.

Over 250 active party workers have been engaged round the clock in this humongous task. These workers not only responsible for ensuring that each and every grievances/suggestions reach the Chief Minister, but also to list them in various ‘trackers’ and ‘buckets’ for its speedy remedial.

For instance, if there are problems over the distribution of ration in five separate districts, then issues related to ration will be listed in a single ‘bucket’, which will have separate folders or headers of the districts to make tracking easier.

Similarly, if a few party workers face problems with their district president or senior leaders, these issues will be listed in a separate ‘bucket’ for the chief minister’s intervention. There will be a different ‘bucket’ for those indulging in corrupt practices and those who want to give suggestions for good governance.

Through the campaign, the common man can reach Banerjee by dialing ‘9137091370’ or by logging onto www.didikebolbo.com, with their suggestions and problems.

The objective of this initiative is to improve citizen participation and engagement by providing a platform to every citizen to share their suggestions/grievances for expedited action. It will reach out to nearly 80 per cent of the households in West Bengal to inform and engage them with initiative over the next 20 months.

The campaign intends to reach out to nearly 80% of the households in West Bengal to inform and engage them with their initiatives over the next 20 months. TMC workers will meet local cadres and influential persons in villages and conduct ‘Jan Sanjog Sabha’ at pre-identified locations with local party workers and booth-level members.

TMC workers are also required to spend a night at the house of one of the party members and supporters, make door-to-door visits, and conduct party flag-hoisting at pre-identified venues.

The campaign is a brainchild of Kishor after Banerjee earlier roped him in for political advice.

The TMC suffered a massive set back in the Lok Sabha elections, securing only 22 of the 42 seats, down from 34 in the 2014 general elections. The BJP, meanwhile, made rapid gains, increasing its tally from two to 18 seats.

Kishor, who has worked with the BJP, Congress, and the YSR Congress, has multiple electoral victories to his credit. In his first major campaign in 2011, he secured victory for Narendra Modi in Gujarat for a third term as chief minister.

Kishor came into the spotlight when he helped Modi and the BJP to victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Since 2014, Kishor has helped elect to power Nitish Kumar in Bihar, Amarinder Singh in Punjab, and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in Andhra Pradesh.

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