KOLKATA: The Trinamool Congress on Wednesday conducted the first training session for recently inducted Bengali film personalities for the election campaign, both on social media and on the ground.
A senior TMC leader conducted the training session at the party headquarters for the cinema personalities, who had taken up the ruling party's flag at recent public functions.
Directors Raj Chakraborty and Sudeshna Roy, Eastern India Motion Pictures Association chairperson Piya Sengupta and several small screen actors including Ranita Das, Sourabh Das and Manali Dey attended the session.
"There were discussions on ways to undertake the campaign on social media and other platforms effectively to put across our views in an emphatic, rational and objective manner without hurting anyone or being unfair," Chakraborty, who had recently joined the TMC but had been close to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for several years, told reporters.
"We learnt a lot on the first day, while more such sessions will be held in the coming days. We wanted to learn more as political workers," he said.
Roy, also a popular filmmaker who was close to the ruling party before joining it formally last month, said, "The session was fruitful.
Rather than merely mouthing 'Khela Hobe' (game on), we need to be conversant with the contents of the campaign, its highlights, the government's achievements and figures."
Actor Ranita Das said they were taught about the differences between Mamata Banerjee's pet scheme 'Kanyashree' and the Centre's 'Beti Bachao Beti Padho Abhiyan', among other things.
"We need to be updated on the details of all such schemes before speaking to the people and drawing comparisons," she said.
Elections to the 294-member state assembly will be held in eight phases from March 27 to April 29.