Mamata Banerjee gave a patient hearing to 37 MLAs from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for around two hours on Tuesday during an unprecedented meeting in which the condition of the backward communities was discussed.

“The chief minister patiently listened to 37 speakers, especially those from Opposition parties,” Congress MLA from Matigara-Naxalbari, Sankar Malakar, said while complimenting Mamata for the first-of-its-kind initiative.

“The government’s lapses in carrying out development for the SC/ST communities were mentioned by some speakers. Some even rolled out suggestions and she seemed receptive to them,” he added, referring to the mellowed approach of Mamata.

An attempt to provide space to Opposition MLAs and expression of willingness to listen to them have become the defining feature of the treasury benches in the ongoing session of the Bengal Assembly. Sources in the Trinamul Congress said the departure from the usual belligerence towards the Opposition was a fallout of the chief minister’s “inclusive approach”.

The meeting at the Assembly on Tuesday, a ruling party MLA said, was a classic example of how Mamata was trying to dispel the notion that Trinamul had stopped listening to ordinary people or the Opposition parties.

“When the message goes out that the chief minister is giving a patient hearing to the Opposition MLAs and also meeting them at the Assembly, it addresses some of the problems that cost us dearly in the Lok Sabha polls,” said the Trinamul legislator.

A preliminary assessment of the poll data revealed that Trinamul had done poorly in areas with high SC and ST population. The finding, sources said, shook the leadership as Trinamul had near hegemony in the SC and ST-dominated areas.

For Tuesday’s meeting, all 84 SC and ST MLAs were invited. Later, at a news briefing, Trinamul leader and minister Partha Chatterjee claimed all the MLAs had turned up. “All Opposition MLAs said her government had done too little for the SC/ST communities. Though she contested it explaining what the government had done, she didn’t lose her cool,” said a Trinamul MLA present at the meeting.