Mamata Banerjee to sit on 2 days dharna in Kolkata today

The Trinamool is leaving no stone unturned in the run-up to the panchayat polls. It had to suffer a defeat in the Sagardighi by-poll at the hands of the Congress.

New Delhi: A day after the BJP leaders of Bengal had a meeting with Union Minister Amit Shah on the preparedness of the panchayat election, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to start a two-day dharna in Kolkata from Wednesday as the Trinamool Congress sharpens its attack on the BJP ahead of the panchayat polls in the state. The protest will take place at the Ambedkar statue, and Banerjee is expected to target the BJP-led centre for allegedly withholding funds to the state.

The Chief Minister's nephew and Trinamool General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee will also address a rally at Shahid Minar ground to protest against the policies of the centre and its "step-motherly" attitude towards Bengal. The Trinamool is leaving no stone unturned in the run-up to the panchayat polls, following its jolt by the Sagardighi by-poll defeat at the hands of the Congress. According to party sources, Banerjee's move to take over the minority affairs portfolio from Ghulam Rabbani is one of the many corrective measures it is taking to ensure a stellar show in the rural polls.

Banerjee has also started setting the pitch for Trinamool's campaign for the 2024 general election. She has already announced that it will contest the Lok Sabha polls alone and is exploring ways to forge an alliance of regional parties’ sans the Congress.

The two parties recently exchanged barbs after Banerjee's remark at an internal party meeting in which she said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "biggest TRP." The Congress hit back, alleging a deal between the Trinamool and the BJP. However, the Mamata Banerjee-led party has backed the Congress on the issue of Rahul Gandhi's disqualification as an MP following a Gujarat court's verdict in a defamation case.

The BJP and the Congress are also planning protests in the city. Bengal BJP leaders will hold a daylong sit-in at Shyambazar during which they target the ruling Trinamool over corruption allegations. The Congress, on the other hand, has announced a march from state party headquarters to Park Circus to protest against the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from Lok Sabha.