LS elections: Mamata to end campaign with mega rally in city

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to end her campaign for Lok Sabha elections with mega roadshows and public meetings in Kolkata towards the end of the month.

So far she has been campaigning in several districts but now it is learnt that she will be ending her campaign in Kolkata where apart from campaigning for her party candidate of Diamond Harbour seat, Abhishek Banerjee, she will also be holding roadshows for her party candidates for Kolkata South and Kolkata North seats. All three seats will be heading for elections on June 1.

It reportedly came to light that she will be holding a public rally at Metiabruz in Kolkata which is part of the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency. This is scheduled to be held on May 29. Abhishek is likely to be present at the meeting. For the Kolkata North seat where the party has fielded Sudip Bandopadhyay, a long-term MP of the seat, Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to hold a three-kilometre roadshow starting from Kankurgachi. This is scheduled to take place on May 27. For the Kolkata South seat, she will hold an eight-kilometre mega rally starting from Jadavpur Police Station to Alipore Fire Brigade. This rally will mark the end of her Lok Sabha poll campaign.

Sources said that the party is most confident of winning all three seats with much ease and is not worried about any reduction in its vote share. In Diamond Harbour, the party is relying on Abhishek’s ‘model constituency’ where over Rs 50000 crore is said to have been spent in the last 10 years for development.

In Kolkata North, the party is confident that apart from people’s trust in Mamata Banerjee, the organisational leadership of Sudip Bandopadhyay will help the party tide over all odds. This time, former TMC leader Tapas Roy will be contesting against Sudip.

For Kolkata South, recently KMC Mayor and Kolkata Port MLA of TMC, Firhad Hakim met his party’s councillors instructing them to ensure that BJP trails in every ward. The candidate for the seat is Mala Roy, who is also the KMC chairperson. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP was leading in at least 26 wards, it was learnt. Roy is holding party workers’ meetings in these wards, apart from reaching out to the voters of the seat.