Mamata Banerjee Leads Pro-Trinamul Walks in North Dinajpur After Rahul Gandhi's Yatra
Trinamul Congress Strengthens Presence in Minority-Dominated Districts, Asserts Dominance Post Rahul's Visit
On Tuesday, Mamata Banerjee led hundreds of people in three walks in North Dinajpur, perhaps as part of a bigger plan to unite support from the minority.
With over 49% of its inhabitants being minorities, the district used to be a stronghold for the Congress. Rahul Gandhi included it in his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra on Monday.
But as the Raiganj MLA, Krishna Kalyani, noted, Trinamul performed "exceptionally well" in the 2021 Assembly elections in North Dinajpur, Malda, and Murshidabad. Kalyani had previously won on a BJP ticket.
Twenty out of 22 seats in Murshidabad, eight out of 12 in Malda, and seven of nine seats in North Dinajpur were won by Trinamul in 2021. Murshidabad has a minority population of 67%, whereas Malda has a minority population of 55%.
"We are putting everything in place to ensure that her visit to these regions is a success. District Trinamul leader Arindam Sarkar said, "The Congress must have received a message from Tuesday's response in Chopra, Islampur, and Raiganj that its claim of having support in some parts of north Bengal doesn't stand."
Tuesday morning, Mamata rode a helicopter from Uttarkanya, the state branch headquarters close to Siliguri, to Chopra in North Dinajpur. Accompanied by party officials and members, hundreds of people flocked the NH27. Phrases like "Didi you march on, we are with you" (Didi tumi egiye cholo, amra tomar sathe achhi) fill the air.
She waved trinamul flags to welcome passersby. After 1.5km of walking, she got into her vehicle and drove to Islampur.
Numerous fans of Trinamul said that while they had come on Monday to get a sight of Rahul, they "are with Didi".
She traveled 1.5 kilometers at Islampur, where she paid respects to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Swami Vivekananda, and Mahatma Gandhi while holding babies and taking photographs with schoolgirls.
Mamata took a plane to Raiganj and then walked two km to get to the stadium for a public service announcement. Then she took a plane to Balurghat.
A day after Rahul's Yatra, observers said Mamata demonstrated her power by strolling on the grounds of the late Congress stalwart Priya Ranjan Das Munshi. Mamata was reportedly furious with the Congress for rejecting her recommendations for seat sharing.
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