The hill unit of the Trinamul Congress today said Mamata Banerjee
would hold a public meeting in Kurseong on March 15 betraying the
party's hope that it could pose a major challenge to the Gorkha Janmukti
Morcha in the Assembly polls on the back of the launch of development
boards for different communities.
Binny Sharma, general secretary, Darjeeling (hill) Trinamul, said:
"Our leader, Miss Mamata Banerjee, will be addressing a public meeting
in Kurseong on March 15. Although the venue has not been fixed, it will
most probably be held at Monteviot ground."
Trinamul sources in Calcutta couldn't confirm if Mamata would speak
in Kurseong, but said she was likely to kick off her election campaign
from the hills.
Shanta Chhetri, who had been elected to the Assembly three times on
GNLF ticket, was fielded by Trinamul in the Kurseong seat. Sarda Rai
Subba and Harka Bahadur Chhetri have been fielded by the party in
Darjeeling and Kalimpong, respectively, though confusion prevails over
the latter's candidature. Elections will be held to the three hill
Assembly segments on April 17.
Sharma said Mamata was also expected to campaign for a day in Siliguri on March 14.
Sources in Trinamul said Mamata was confident that Trinamul would put
up a strong fight in the three seats. "The confidence stems from the
fact that she has formed separate development boards for many hill
communities and she expects their support for Trinamul candidates," a
Trinamul leader said on condition of anonymity.
So far, development boards have been formed for Lepchas, Tamangs,
Sherpas, Bhutias and Mangars. The chief minister has announced
development boards for the Limbus and Rais as well, but they have not
been formed yet. These communities together make up over 50 per cent of
the hill population.
The elections, observers believe, will show if political benefits
will accrue to Trinamul from the boards. "This is the elections where it
will be clear whether Mamata's development boards have managed to win
the hearts of the hill people," said an observer.
The Morcha, on the other hand, has been alleging that the boards were
formed with an intention to divide and rule the hill population.
Shanta Chhetri who had joined Mamata's party on February 22, 2014,
said she would not speak against anyone in the campaign. "A week after
my house had been burnt down by Morcha activists on February 18, 2010,
my husband died and people were not allowed to attend the funeral. I
have gone through the worst. Yet, I will not speak against anyone in the
election campaign," she said.(TT)
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