MAMATA TO ADDRESS FIRST COMMUNITY MEET CM Hindi outreach in Siliguri

TT, Siliguri: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee will attend a "Milan Samaroh" (get together) of the Hindi-speaking people residing in and around the city on Thursday.

In recent years, this is the first time that Mamata will be attending such a meet which is being seen as an initiative to galvanise support for her party from among the non-Bengali residents of Siliguri, while keeping an eye on the ensuing Parliament elections and also some local polls due for 2020.

On Thursday, the event would be organised by Paschim Bangal Hindi Bhasi Parishad, an association that has been floated to bring all Hindi-speaking communities together and work on social issues, said the organisers.

"We would be organising this get-together and intend to bring in all the Hind-speaking people in a platform that would work for all of them and will also act as a bridge among the communities. The chief minister's presence in the event will surely add to its importance. The state has taken a number of initiatives for the Hindi-speaking population and we thank the chief minister for it," said Kamal Kumar Mittal, president of the Parishad.

Political observers, however, pointed that presence of Mamata Banerjee at the event is an indication that Trinamul has started focussing on the foothills of Darjeeling district and want to consolidate support to prevent the BJP from winning the Lok Sabha seat for the third time.

Back on March 2014, that is, ahead of the last Parliament elections, Siliguri had witnessed a similar meet. It was organised under the banner of International Marwari Federation and state ministers Amit Mitra and Gautam Deb, and Trinamul's Rajya Sabha MP Derek O' Brian were present. Around 500 people had attended the meet.

"Since then, no such interaction or meet was held where state ministers or prominent Trinamul leaders had spoken with representatives of different communities. Now that the Lok Sabha polls are around the corner, the get-together has naturally gained importance. There is also an expectation that the chief minister would pass some message to the Hindi-speaking population of the largest town of north Bengal," said an observer.

In Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts, which form the Darjeeling Parliament seat (along with Chopra Assembly constituency of North Dinajpur), Trinamul has found its ally in the hills ­ the Binay Tamang led Gorkha Janmukti Morcha ­ and has also seen how the BJP, that had won the seat in 2009 and 2014 with Morcha's support, has faced a setback in past one year..