Chief minister Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to reach north Bengal on a politically significant visit next week during which she will focus on Alipurduar, a district where the Trinamul has been traditionally weak.
She is also supposed to visit Meghalaya where the ruling party in Bengal will contest the Assembly polls held in a couple of months.
A source aware of the chief minister’s itinerary said that Mamata will reach Alipurduar district on January 17 from Calcutta. The next day, she will take a chopper to reach Meghalaya to speak at a public meeting.
“She will return to Alipurduar the same day. On January 19, she will attend a public distribution programme at a tea estate near Hasimara and leave for Calcutta. She might also speak with administrative officials to know the progress of development projects and implementation of welfare schemes,” said a source.
Over the past few months, the party has trained its eyes on Meghalaya after a number of prominent political faces of Congress, including former chief minister Mukul Sangma, joined the party making it the main Opposition party in the state.
Recently, Trinamul released the first list of 52 candidates, including five women, for Assembly elections in Meghalaya, which has 60 seats. Polls are likely in February.
Amid the euphoria in Trinamul about its prospects in Meghalaya, it suffered a jolt on Thursday when two Trinamul MLAs — Jimmy D Sangma and Marthan Sangma — walked out of the party and joined the National People’s Party or NPP, which is in power. Both had joined Trinamul from Congress led by Sangma.
Following the duo’s resignation, the number of Trinamul MLAs has come down to nine in the 60-seat Meghalaya Assembly.
This is the second time that Mamata’s party had to face defections. Last month, an MLA left Trinamul for the BJP.
Political observers said that ahead of the Assembly elections, it is a loss of face for Trinamul, which has been trying to establish itself as a prominent political force in the state.
“The party needs to prevent its political contenders like NPP and its ally BJP from poaching its MLAs and leaders. It seems the chief minister is going to assess the situation in the state... She will try to strengthen the morale of party leaders and workers at the proposed public meeting,” said a political observer.
Mamata’s visit to Alipurduar — a Bengal district with no Trinamul MP or MLA — is also important as the rural elections are ahead.
A source said that in the past two years, the party has managed to revive support in urban areas, evident in the civic poll results last year.
“In rural polls, we have to get support of the tea population which decides the results of most elections,” said a senior Trinamul functionary in Alipurduar.
Additional reporting by Anirban Choudhury
