Mamata Banerjee's TMC trying to make national ambitions a reality

NEW DELHI: Determined to spread wings beyond West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee has chalked out plans that includes opening up units in all 70 Assembly seats of Delhi, seat-sharing deal with Asom Gana Parishad and a rally in Ahmedabad on March 20. While TMC is hoping to win most of its Lok Sabha seats from its home turf in West Bengal, the party is trying various tricks to make its national ambitions a reality with support from Team Anna. The party has already opened units in fiftyfive of the seventy assembly segments in Delhi with assistance of Anna’s supporters. Each such unit currently has 15 members drawn largely from Anna’s camp, a senior TMC leader told ET.

At the March 12 rally at Delhi’s Ram Lila grounds that will be addressed jointly by Banerjee and Anna , the party will outline its national agenda. The party is likely to announce its candidates for the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi and the list will comprise ex-bureaucrats , former judges and lawyers, TMC sources informed. The party has also been toying with the idea to field Bollywood actor of yesteryears Biswajit from Delhi. However, sections within the party feel that the filmstar is not a ‘son of the soil’ and may not attract voters. Meanwhile, Vinod Kumar Binny who was expelled from AAP will be announced as TMC’s candidate from the East Delhi constituency at this mega rally.

In Western India, Banerjee wants to throw a direct challenge to BJP PM hopeful Narendra Modi from his home turf of Ahmedabad on March 20. The TMC may field some candidates in Gujarat and the party gained some strength following the decision of the state unit of Samata Party to merge with Trinamool , sources informed . The proximity of Gujarat to Maharashtra has also been factored in. This will enable Anna Hazare, a native of Maharashtra to extend support to TMC. Presence of Anna, however, will keep away Syed Ahmed Bukhari Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid in Delhi from the March 12 rally. This is despite that Bukhari has extended support to Banerjee who is eyeing large chunk of Muslim votes in West Bengal. With an eye on expanding its presence nearer home, the party has almost finalised its seat sharing arrangement with Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) in Assam.

This key state of Northeast has 14 seats in Lok Sabha and TMC may end up contesting three to four seats in Assam. Earlier AGP’s poll tie-up with BJP fell through over seat sharing arrangement and allegations that the saffron party was trying to split AGP, TMC sources indicated . In yet another Northeastern state of Manipur, TMC will fight two Lok Sabha seats and the party is hopeful of winning one of them. There are seven Trinamool MLAs in Manipur Assembly. Meanwhile an interesting highlight of the March 12 rally will be launch of music CDs on Mamata in six languages –Bangla , Hindi, Bhojpuri , Assamese, Manipuri and Urdu . The CDs are titled ‘Vandemataram : Delhi Dekhegi Didi ka Dum’ .