Siliguri, Aug. 27: A three-member delegation of the Trinamul Congress's Darjeeling unit will attend the talks convened by the state government at Nabanna on August 29 to discuss the impasse in the hills.

Rajen Mukhia and Binny Sharma, the president of and the spokesperson for Darjeeling district (hill) Trinamul, respectively, and L.B. Rai, the chairman of Mirik municipality, are the three who will take part in the meeting.

Sharma today said Trinamul would press for the restoration of peace and normality in the hills during the talks.

"We have been invited to talks. A three-member delegation of the party will attend the meeting. We will demand that the strike be called off and peace and normalcy be restored in the hills," he said.

When chief minister Mamata Banerjee had announced the meeting on August 22, she hinted that her party's hill unit would also be called.

Observers said the decision to call the hill Trinamul leaders to the talks was a part of the state government's strategy to ensure that the administration got support during the meeting.

"It is because of the same reason that the government has invited representatives of all 15 development boards in the hills to the meeting. As the state will reassert that it wants the strike to be withdrawn and normalcy to be restored, it will get support from the Trinamul delegation. The government also expects support from the boards' representatives," said an observer.

Mamata has called the hill Trinamul leaders to the talks also because she wants to drive home the point that the state still considers Trinamul to be a force to be reckoned with in the hills.

Since June, when Morcha has resumed the movement for the separate state, Trinamul's support base has eroded substantially. Trinamul's councillors and leaders have deserted the party in the hills and joined the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha or the GNLF.

However, a section of the hill leadership and all six councillors of Trinamul at Mirik continue to be with the party. "It is a gesture of compliment for these leaders, who, despite confronting criticism, intimidation and even attacks by Gorkhaland supporters have not left Trinamul. The invite will create a positive feeling among Trinamul leaders and supporters," said a political analyst.

Also, Mamata Banerjee wants to pass a message to the hill people that the state still considers Trinamul to be a prominent political force in hills.

"In the civic polls held earlier this year, Trinamul had emerged as the second major political party in hills in terms of vote share. If Trinamul had been kept out of the talks, it would have created a negative impression," the analyst said.

Sources said Sharma, Mukhia and Rai would meet state Trinamul leaders in Calcutta tomorrow.