Confident, CM urges N Bengal to vote for her- She admits to Lok Sabha poll drubbing; Nine personalities in the region awarded Banga Ratna as Uttar Banga Utsav kicks off

SANKHA GHOSH, SNS, SILIGURI, 1 FEBRUARY 21 : Chief minister Mamata Banerjee today oozed confidence that the Trinamul Congress government in the state would return to power for the third time this election, and appealed to people in north Bengal to vote for the party in the upcoming Assembly polls.

According to Miss Banerjee, though her party suffered a drubbing in north Bengal in the last parliamentary elections, she was hopefull that people would help recover the loss.

The CM was speaking during the inauguration of the 10th edition of the Uttarbanga Utsav (North Bengal Festival) at Bagha Jatin Park here today.

Miss Banerjee also inaugurated a series of developmerit projects worth several crore rupees for the region.

She further presented the prestigious Banga Ratna Samman to nine personalities of eight north Bengal districts. The festival will continue till 10 February.

"We were defeated badly here during the Lok Sabha elections. I am not ashamed of it because I am hopeful you will help recover the loss," Miss Banerjee told the gathering, taking some TMC leaders by surprise with her candid talk.

She threw a question at the crowd "Will you help recover the loss?", and "yes.: came the reply. She also appealed for votes from the Hindi-speaking audience there.

The BJP won seven of the eight seats in the last general elections in north Bengal. Laying special focus on the region,TMC leaders said they will secure at least 50 of the 54 Assembly seats in the region.

"We were surprised the way she directly talked about the defeat of our party in most of the seats in the last Lok Sabha elections in north Bengal. I cannot recall the CM ever talking in such a manner about the poor show in a public programme. This is her specialty," said a senior TMC leader.

During her speech, Miss Banerjee focused on the pro-development face of the state government.

"Within a short span of time, there has been huge development work in the region. Road connectivity, including bridges, universities, colleges, administrative setups like the branch secretariat of north Bengal Uttarkanya, sports village Biswa Bangla Krirangan in Jalpaiguri, mega tourism project Bhorer Alo at Gajoldoba, Bengal Safari: North Bengal Wild Animal Park, have come up. We have given recognition to the Rajbanshi language," Miss Banerjee added.

Explaining the benefits of the 'Swastha Sethi' health card for the people, she said, "Don't worry Didi will stay, you will stay and the card will work."

Longest bridge inaugurated

Miss Banerjee also inaugurated a number of projects, including the longest Haldibari Mekhliganj bridge (Joyee) in the state, power sub-stations of the West BengaI State Electricity Distribution Company Limited in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Malda districts, cement factory in Jalpaiguri district, and youth hostels.

The 3.029 km bridge over the Teesta river in Cooch Behar district will shorten the distance between the two places by 60 km. The project cost is around Rs 500 crore.

Miss Banerjee also inaugurated the 9444.5-meter long Kamteswari bridge connecting Sitalkuchi Road-Sitai Road in Cooch Behar district, with the project costing Rs 150 crore. "I feel proud today to dedicate two important bridges to the people of north Bengal. Those were my dream projects," she said.

A 735.6-meter long Fulbari-Gajoldoba road over the bridge, near Siliguri, was also inaugurated. The estimated project cost is Rs 45 crore. She also inaugurated a fire station at Nisiganj in Cooch Behar district with a project cost of Rs 4 crore.