Trinamul will go for a “twin test of support” in the Darjeeling district on Wednesday – both in the hills and in the plains.
While Mamata Banerjee will lead a rally in Darjeeling, Trinamul leaders in the plains would hit the streets to register their protest against the NRC and the CAA.
On reaching Siliguri on Monday, Mamata inaugurated the Uttarbanga Utsav and then instructed party leaders here to arrange a march – albeit not in Siliguri town, but in rural areas of the subdivision – around the same time she would walk through the hilly stretches of Darjeeling town.
“We are making all necessary arrangements as per her instructions. The march will be held on the outskirts of Siliguri. We are working on the route and consulting our leaders of different blocks,” said Ranjan Sarkar, the Darjeeling (plains) Trinamul president.
The move, party insiders said, is an attempt to test the support base, both in the hills and in plains.
According to several Trinamul leaders, the party had an overwhelming response during Mamata’s first march against the CAA and the NRC on January 3 as over 35,000 people had walked 4.5km ignoring rains.
“Several of them had stood at Baghajatin Park (where the march ended) to listen to her. That is why it seems she wants to have an assessment of our support base both in the hills and in the foothills,” said a Trinamul leader.
Mamata’s instruction to hold the march in plains is significant for another reason, pointed out an observer.
He said like the Siliguri Municipal Corporation where elections would be due in another three-four months’ time, the three-tier panchayat elections will also be due in the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad later this year. Also, like the SMC, Trinamul has never secured SMP.
“While leaders based in the city are desperate to wrest this civic body from the Left this time, Trinamul leaders based in the four blocks of Siliguri sub-division want to win majority of the seats in SMP and also in the panchayat samitis and panchayats That is why the march is important to know where the party’s support base stands in these days in the rural areas. Not to mention that like Siliguri civic area, BJP was ahead in all the blocks at the Parliament elections,” said an observer.
In rural Siliguri, there are 22 panchayats and four panchayat samitis. The uppermost tier is the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad where there are nine seats.