Kolkata: In a bid to strengthen the Trinamul Congress’ organisation in Odisha, chief minister Mamata Banerjee will visit the neighbouring state next week. She will travel to Bhubaneshwar on April 18 and is likely to address a rally there.
The Trinamul has its branch in Bhubaneswar but its presence has not turned out to be impressive so far.
Sources said that Ms Banerjee is also expected to visit her ailing party MP Sudip Bandopadhyay who has been admitted to a private hospital following his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the multi-crore Rose Valley chit fund scam.
The chief minister may offer puja at Puri temple, sources added. Trinamul insiders however hinted that Ms Banerjee’s visit to Odisha at this time would carry a significance.
Her proposed tour comes days after she met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi recently. But she is no mood to leave political space to the BJP which is focussing on Odisha to make its presence felt by holding its two-day-long national executive meeting in Bhubaneswar.
On Saturday Mr Modi, finance minister Arun Jaitley, BJP president Amit Shah and veteran party leader L K Advani attended the meet. Speculation is rife that Ms Banerjee in her address to the rally would train her guns against the BJP and its government at the Centre.
Apart from addressing a rally, the Trinamul supremo is all set to visit Mr Bandopadhyay to boost his morale and convey him that the party is still behind him, sources disclosed.
Since the his arrest this year, Ms Banerjee has maintained that he has been a victim of politics of vendetta by the BJP for his key role in the Lok Sabha.
