Begnal gears up for political bigwigs' rally

KOLKATA: Both the ruling CPIM and opposition Trinamool Congress and Congress have chalked out the tour itineraries for their heavyweight leaders after April 16 when the higher secondary examinations in West Bengal give over. CPIM sources said that the chief minister and party���s politburo member Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will visit north Bengal to campaign for the Left Front candidates on April 18 and 19.

Interestingly, external affairs minister and West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) president Pranab Mukherjee and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee will also visit north Bengal on April 19 to campaign for their candidates.

CPIM sources said that the chief minister will address two public meetings at Dhupguri and Alipurduar to campaign for the Left Front candidates on April 18. On April 19, the chief minister will attend two rallies at Toofangunj and Dinhata in Cooch Behar district to campaign for the Forward Bloc candidate Nripen Roy who is contesting the Cooch Behar Lok Sabha constituency.

Sources in the WBPCC informed that Pranab Mukherjee and Mamata Banerjee will jointly address four election rallies at Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Balurghat on April 19. Both the leaders will be using a helicopter to tour these respective venues on the same day.

On the same day, three Z-plus category VIPs like the chief minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee and Ms Mamata Banerjee will travel to Cooch Behar district to attend election rallies for their respective candidates. Naturally, security arrangements in Cooch Behar district will be beefed up on this day.