Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is on a three-day tour to Mumbai with the dual goal of attracting investors for the state and to network with the leaders there to achieve her national expansion goals. She is supposed to meet NCP chief, Sharad Pawar and Aditya Thackeray, son of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhab Thackeray
While addressing the media at Kolkata airport, she said that wished to meet the Maharashtra chief minister, “But since he is ill-disposed I will not be able to meet him. Instead, I will have a meeting with his son, Aditya Thackeray.” Apart from that during her three-day tour, she is supposed to meet the young entrepreneurs of Mumbai. She would also visit the Siddhi Vinayak temple and Police Memorial there.
After taking over as the chief minister for the third consecutive term, Mamata Banerjee made it clear that the industrial development of the state will be her priority. She is supposed to invite the young entrepreneurs in Mumbai to invest in West Bengal and also to attend the industrial meet next year. On Wednesday, she is also supposed to hold meetings with the representatives of the civil society in Mumbai.
Experts analyse Mamata's visit
According to the former principal of the then Presidency College and renowned political scientist, Dr Amal Kumar Mukhopadhyay, although her trip to Mumbai at this juncture is quite significant, it is not possible to predict how positive it would turn out to be. “The anti- BJP opposition forces in the country are divided. On one hand, Trinamool Congress is distancing itself from Congress. The same approach has been adopted by the other regional parties like Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, among others. It is to be seen now whether Mamata Banerjee is capable of bringing them under one umbrella. If she is able to achieve that the tour will be really significant from the national perspective. But whether she is able to achieve that or not only time can speak,” Dr Mukhopadhyay said.
Similarly, political analyst and the former registrar of Rajagopal Dhar Chakrabarty said that before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections several political equations will emerge. “It is good that the regional parties are gaining significance at the national level. But I am doubtful on how far the opposition alliance will be fruitful minus Congress. So it is too early to predict the outcome of the chief minister’s Mumbai tour,” he said.
According to him, it is also too early to predict whether Trinamool Congress can evolve as the principal opposition nationally. “It is true that Trinamool Congress has outlined an ambitious map of the national expansion of its network. Now only time will say how far such ambitions will be fruitful. However, she deserves accolades for trips to Mumbai to attract investors for the state,” he said.
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