Mamata asks TMC workers to gear up for panchayat, LS polls

TMC chief Mamata Banerjee on Friday said that next month’s panchayat elections were a dress rehearsal for the Lok Sabha polls, which she claimed would be held in November. 

‘My understanding is that the Lok Sabha elections will be held sometime in mid November and the panchayat elections are a run up to it. So we must start preparations from Friday today,’ Banerjee told a meeting with TMC Rajya Sabha members, according to a party insider.

Banerjee, the West Bengal chief minister, also touched on the proposed Food Security Bill of the UPA government and dismissed it as a ‘gimmick’. She also doubted the efficacy of the proposed cash transfer in lieu of foodgrains saying it would be of no use since banking infrastructure was not available in remote areas.