Chief minister Mamata Banerjee said she would visit the hills in November again as she left Kurseong town on Thursday and headed for Goa, the BJP-ruled state in west India on which Trinamul has been steadfastly focusing for the past few months.
Later in the afternoon, Mamata landed in Goa where she will stay for three days. Elections in the western state are due in February next year.
“I am leaving for Goa from here. During my stay in the hills, I have communicated with the people. I will be back in the hills again next month,” the chief minister said, while leaving for Bagdogra airport from Kurseong.
During her five-day visit to north Bengal — the first visit after she had assumed the chief minister’s office for the third time — Mamata spent half of her time in Kurseong, a move which indicates that Trinamul is recasting its focus on the hills.
She has also addressed a number of local demands, which include the GTA and panchayat elections, and has sought proposals from the hill leaders on the issue of “permanent political solution” (PPS) in the hills.
The chief minister’s assurance to her allies — the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha headed by Bimal Gurung and Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha led by Anit Thapa — indicated that she wants to counter the BJP and its allies, particularly because recently the Narendra Modi government at the Centre has picked up the hill issue and Union home minister Amit Shah held a tripartite meeting earlier this month.
There are indications that another round of tripartite talks would be held in November.
“She has tried to drive home the point that her party gives due importance to its allies by asking them to come up with proposals for PPS. Also, her move to address the issue and other demands like elections of local bodies in the hills shows that she does not want to leave any political space for the saffron camp,” said an observer.
In the hills, the BJP and its allies like the GNLF are under pressure over the issue of PPS and also on the issue of according Scheduled Tribe status to 11 hill communities.
A veteran of hill politics said that as the chief minister has clarified that elections to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) would be held next year and the panchayat elections would be held in due course, she has taken a two-fold strategy to dent the BJP’s support base in the hills.
“On one hand, she is playing the development card. On the other hand, she is putting all efforts to confirm that there is no grievance among her allies,” the political leader said.
Earlier on Thursday, Mamata took a stroll through Kurseong town. Accompanied by Thapa, she met some school students and interacted with them.
“Extremely pleased to interact with children in Darjeeling! Their smiling faces fills my heart with joy (sic),” the chief minister posted on social media with a video.
