Prashant Kishor to Review Mamata’s ‘Didi Ke Bolo’ Campaign on November 7, Ahead of Bypolls

Political strategist Prashant Kishor will review the Trinamool Congress’ “Didi Ke Bolo” outreach programme on November 7 in Kolkata, after the campaign completes 100 days. It was launched on July 29, 2019, a little over two months after the TMC’s poor showing in the Lok Sabha election in May.

The review meeting

Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee will chair the meeting at Trinamool Bhawan, and all party MLAs, MPs and district chiefs have been told to be present. She will assess the report and then meet Kishor with district leaders and legislators to discuss the issues raised. The party says more than 30 lakh people have called in with grievances.

A senior TMC leader said the campaign had helped the party understand problems at the grassroots, and claimed that some who had left for the BJP had returned, bringing some municipalities back under TMC control. He said the November 25 bypolls in Karimpur, Kaliaganj and Kharagpur Sadar would be a litmus test for the campaign. Nominations close on November 6 and counting is on November 28.

How the campaign works

The programme is designed both to let people reach the Chief Minister and to monitor how government schemes are working. Complaints are sorted into ‘buckets’, one for each scheme, with trackers recording how many have been resolved and how long that took. Issues from different districts on the same subject, such as ration distribution, go into one bucket with district-wise folders. Separate buckets cover complaints by party workers about local leaders, allegations of corruption, and governance suggestions. More than 250 party workers handle the calls round the clock.

The aim is to reach close to 80 per cent of households in the state over 20 months. TMC workers are to hold ‘Jan Sanjog Sabha’ meetings, make door-to-door visits, hoist party flags at chosen venues and spend a night at a supporter’s home.

Background

The campaign was devised by Kishor after Banerjee hired him. In the Lok Sabha election, the TMC’s tally fell to 22 of the state’s 42 seats from 34 in 2014, while the BJP rose from two to 18. Kishor has worked with the BJP, the Congress and the YSR Congress; he worked on Narendra Modi’s campaign for a third term as Gujarat chief minister and the BJP’s 2014 Lok Sabha win, and has since helped Nitish Kumar, Amarinder Singh and Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy to power.

See also: more election news.

Originally published on 2 November 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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