Amid poll uncertaint Mamata cancels trip and walks the greens

Ajanta Chakraborty, TNN | Jul 1, 2013, KOLKATA: Amid uncertainty over the panchayat polls, chief minister Mamata Banerjee, after cancelling her visit to north Bengal for election campaigning, on Monday took to the Maidan's greens where she usually takes a walking break after a tiring day.

Mamata left Writers' Buildings a little before 6pm on Monday, without a word to waiting journalists. The Mamata government, which desisted from issuing the poll notification on Monday, adhering to the apex court verdict rescheduling the state rural council elections, is waiting for Tuesday's hearing. 

The chief minister, too, will plan her election campaigning accordingly. Over the past two or three weeks, Mamata has been on a hurricane tour to the districts, campaigning extensively even as her government fought against the state election commission in a legal battle. 

The chief minister was scheduled to campaign for the rural polls in Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri on 5 and 6th July respectively when the three-tier panchayat polls were scheduled to be held on 9 July in north Bengal's four districts. 

Jalpaiguri's district Trinamool Congress president Chandan Bhowmik said, "The chief minister will not be campaigning at Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri, for now. Her programme has been cancelled in the wake of the Supreme Court order." 

The Left Front, on the other hand, has completed its first round of rural poll campaigning in Jalpaiguri and surrounding areas. Senior Politburo leaders like Brinda Karat, Nirupam Sen, Md Selim and Biman Bose have been doing the rounds of these areas over the past two weeks. Leader of the Opposition Surjya Kanta Mishra will address at least 12 public meetings in Jalpaiguri and nearby areas from 5 July. 

Left Front constituent Forward Bloc has asked senior party leader Akshay Thakur to lead the rural poll campaigning in the absence of Bloc secretary Udayan Guha who has been absconding after police registered a murder case against him in connection with the murder of Trinamool Congress supporters Ratan Barman at Dinhata a few days ago