Mamata show of unity - CM addresses tea hands, talks of a 'united' state

Mamata in Malbazar on Wednesday. (Kundan Yolmo)

Avijit Sinha,TT, Malbazar (Jalpaiguri), Nov. 4: Mamata Banerjee today tried to portray a united image of Trinamul in north Bengal by keeping leaders of various factions on the dais with her at a government programme.

The chief minister gave an "equal chance" to several leaders - from Udayan Guha, a former Forward Bloc leader and Dinhata MLA who is the latest entrant to the ruling party to north #Bengal development minister Gautam Deb and his bete noire Sourav Chakraborty, the party president of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts - to hand over assistance under different schemes.

Almost all leaders were asked to distribute bicycles, pumpsets, tractors, pattas (land rights) among residents, musical instruments among folk artistes and assistance for visually-impaired students.

A Trinamul leader said Mamata tried to present a united face of the party with an eye on the Assembly polls. "Factionalism in Trinamul is a new trend in north Bengal. But in the past few months, it has reached such a point that the party suffered setbacks in two polls in Siliguri. Mamata is aware of it ...," he said.

Recently, there have been clashes between rival factions in Cooch Behar, Malda, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur and Jalpaiguri districts. "By bringing leaders of different factions on the dais and asking most of them to hand over assistance to beneficiaries, Mamata Banerjee tried to prove to the voters and party workers that they were working together," said a Trinamul insider.

Today, addressing tea workers, Mamata said: " Mazdoor bhaiyon aur bahnon, ek hi baat bolna hai. Aap kisiko bharosa mat karo. Aap kisiko vishwas mat karo. Aap ka paas didi hai na? Aap ka izzat ke liye hum ladai karenge (my worker brothers and sisters, I want to say only one thing. You don't bank on anyone, don't believe anyone. You have Didi isn't it? We will fight for your respect)."

It is the second time that Mamata addressed tea workers in this trip . "Yesterday, she spoke in eastern Dooars and today, she spoke to the people of Malbazar, the most prominent town in western Dooars," said an observer. "The absence of a support base and trade union in the tea estates of the Terai and Dooars has posed a problem for Trinamul. Before the Assembly polls, Mamata has adopted a strategy of 'planter-bashing' to woo tea workers."

Today, Mamata also spoke of a "united Bengal". "We want Darjeeling, the Terai and Dooars to live together and peacefully. Bengal will never be divided and it will move as a united state...." she said.

A CPM leader in Malbazar said: "The Dooars is known for strong anti-Gorkhaland sentiment. The Trinamul supremo today... tried to consolidate the anti-Gorkhaland votes."