Mamata marches to file nomination for Bhabanipur seat amid show of strength

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday marched from her Kalighat residence here to file her nomination papers for the Bhabanipur assembly seat, amid a sea of supporters raising slogans in favour of the TMC supremo.

With folded hands and her trademark smile, Banerjee greeted party workers and supporters lined up on both sides of the road as she walked nearly 800 metres to the Alipore Survey Building, where the nomination papers were to be filed.

During the procession, TMC activists raised slogans - "Mamata Banerjee zindabad" and "TMC zindabad".

The three-time MLA from Bhabanipur is set to take on BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari in the high-stakes contest.

Among those likely to sign her nomination papers were Rubi Hakim, wife of Kolkata Mayor and senior minister Firhad Hakim, TMC block president of Ward 71 Bablu Singh and Miraj Shah of the Bhabanipur Education Society.

Banerjee's roadshow and nomination filing were being projected by the TMC as a political message of Bengal's pluralist ethos in Bhabanipur, a constituency where Gujarati businessmen, Bengali families, Punjabi households and Muslim residents have lived side by side for decades.