The Trinamool Congress, whose fortunes plummeted after a morale-bursting defeat in the parliamentary polls, has the publication of a newspaper among its many-pronged plans for revival.
The party's trying hard to come out of the political morass and has planned, among other things, a proper post-mortem of the defeat, a revamp of the leadership and a comprehensive public relations exercise.
But, the one single plan that is grabbing attention is the party's decision to start a newspaper as a weapon to counter adverse publicity in some mainstream media and the mouthpieces of the state's ruling leftists.
According to Trinamool sources, party chief Mamata Banerjee wants to first come out with a weekly and later turn the same into a daily.
"The idea is to be able to tell people what the party stands for. Our views have not been portrayed correctly at times," a senior Trinamool leader told <i>rediff.com</i>.
The leader, who did not wish to be identified because the newspaper was still on the drawing board, said certain mainstream newspapers with leftist leanings engaged in a vilification campaign against the Trinamool.
"We will counter that with our own paper because people need to be informed of the truth." Funds for the paper are being raised.
West Bengal's ruling leftists have their own dailies that trumpet the ruling parties' and the government's achievements. Buying these newspapers is compulsory for party members.