AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s persistent efforts to rejuvenate the Congress in the state has apparently caused resentment in the Trinamul Congress camp which is determined to not give an inch to its ally. A day before Mr Gandhi was scheduled to embark on his extensive three-day tour of several districts, railway minister
and Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee took a veiled dig at his proposed visit to North Bengal. “I am not like the proverbial cuckoo bird which arrives in spring and disappears at the end of the season. There is a consistency in my work in North Bengal,” she said without naming Mr Gandhi. Ms Banerjee was speaking after unveiling a bunch of railway projects for North Bengal at New Jalpaiguri.
She conceded that her party had not much of a presence in North Bengal where Congress was a force to reckon with. “Although we have a small footprint here, I can assure the people of North Bengal that they will not be disappointed if they give us their support,” she said. Ms Banerjee made this passionate appeal ahead of Mr Gandhi’s visit to three districts — Jalpaiguri, Coochbehar and South Dinajpur — in the region.
Mr Gandhi, who addressed his first rally in the city on September 6 is now all set to begin his second leg with a visit to Santiniketan in Birbhum on Tuesday. During his three-day sojourn, he will interact with a cross section of the society: from youth to women and from Muslims to scheduled tribes. The youth icon of the Congress is determined to galvanise party workers and strengthen the party organisation before the Assembly polls. And this is what is causing heartburns among the Trinamul Congress leaders.
In an apparent bid to check the Youth Congress’ possible upsurge following Mr Gandhi’s visits, the Trinamul Youth Congress on Sunday announced a number of programmes.