CM to address rally in Bhubaneswar, likely to meet ailing Sudip too

Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee will be visiting Bhubaneswar on Tuesday where she will hold talks with Trinamool Congress workers and is likely to address a public rally too.

Political experts said her visit to the temple town shortly after the visit of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is now in Bhubaneswar to attend a two-day national convention of BJP is significant. Banerjee wants to increase the organisational strength of the party and is trying to explore the possibility of an alternative force before the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

It may be recalled that in most of her recent speeches delivered in public meetings, Banerjee had said Trinamool Congress would go to Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar and even Punjab and Delhi.

The Trinamool Congress recently opened its office in Bhubaneswar and party heavyweights Mukul Roy and Subrata Bakshi were present at the inaugural ceremony. The party had received a good response from people when party leaders Suvendu Adhikari and Manas Bhuniya went to Odisha last year after high value notes were banned by the Centre in November last year.

Political experts said the BJP had done well in the municipal polls in Odisha and after securing the second position in Kanthi South, the party would put wholehearted efforts to get more seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and put up a tough fight in the 2021 Assembly polls.

Trinamool Congress, on the contrary, will try to organise those who are opposing the BJP. The experts said that despite BJP's success in the polls, a force against BJP is gaining strength in different states and Banerjee wants to capitalise this force. Also, she is a popular leader in Odisha so her visiting the state after Modi is a matter to be closely watched.

It was also learnt that Banerjee might go to meet Sudip Bandopadhyay who was receiving treatment. Currently, Bandopadhyay is in CBI custody in connection with the Rose Valley scam.

Meanwhile, top Trinamool leaders have instructed party leaders and workers not to answer any queries relating to BJP and to not get provoked by statements and speeches by leaders of other parties particularly BJP.

Trinamool Congress has decided that only party supremo Mamata Banerjee and some other senior designated party leaders will answer to the queries about BJP. At a party meeting held in South Kolkata on Friday evening, party men have asked leaders and workers to reserve their comments on the issue. A senior party leader said some BJP leaders were trying to provoke Trinamool workers and leaders to issue a statement and the decision not to reply to their statement is a part of party's strategy.

Political experts felt that BJP is constantly trying to play the Hindutva card in Bengal and the party thinks that it will have a favourable impact in the bordering districts. An RSS leader said the party had been holding meeting with local youth in Jadavpur and Behala and many youth who are supporters of Congress and CPI(M) and even TMC, have shown interest in the party's programme. The statement of the RSS leader is not without any basis. In Jadavpur, which a Left bastion, a Ram Navami procession had been carried out. Though no weapon was carried but hundreds of youth had joined the rally.