Callers to Mamata’s ‘Didi Ke Bolo’ Helpline Complain of Cut Money and Extortion

The ‘Didi Ke Bolo’ campaign launched by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is letting the Trinamool Congress reach people in distress, but it is also forcing party leaders in Kolkata and across the state to field awkward questions about cut money, syndicates and the arrogance of local leaders.

How the campaign works

On the advice of poll strategist Prashant Kishor and his organisation, whom the TMC brought in after a poor Lok Sabha result, Banerjee launched a dedicated helpline number and website on July 29 so that people could contact party functionaries directly. Under the programme, more than 1,000 party leaders are touring 10,000 villages to address grievances.

Senior TMC leaders cited callers from North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Hooghly, Howrah and Jalpaiguri districts who had received help with medical emergencies or college admissions. One leader said local leaders and departments were contacted after each call and that every complaint was dealt with within 24 hours. People from the state stranded in floods in Karnataka and Kerala were also rescued after their locations were passed to the disaster management department, he said.

Uncomfortable questions

Another leader, speaking anonymously, said callers had complained about extortion, cut money and syndicates, some of them targeting leaders who joined the TMC from other parties after it came to power in 2011. Leaders on the outreach drive, which includes ministers such as Partha Chatterjee, Firhad Hakim and Jyotipriyo Mullick, said they were struggling to answer such questions and that people asked why corrupt and arrogant leaders had not been expelled. They promised to report their findings to the leadership.

State BJP president Dilip Ghosh said people were “fed up” with the state government, and that the questions were only a small sign of public anger ahead of the next assembly polls.

Background

In the Lok Sabha election, the BJP rose from two seats in 2014 to 18 of the state’s 42, while the TMC won 22. According to sources, the TMC sought professional help to repair its image before the 2021 assembly election.

What happened next

In the 2021 West Bengal assembly election, the Trinamool Congress won 215 seats and the BJP 77, and Mamata Banerjee remained Chief Minister.

See also: elections and political leaders.

Originally published on 20 August 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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