West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, who arrived here on a two-day visit to poll-bound Tripura, said on Monday that her party would continue to stand by the people of the state, despite the attacks mounted on its leaders. The chief minister, who landed here around 5 pm, was accompanied by her nephew and party's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee
TMC state president Pijush Kanti Biswas, party MP Sushmita Dev and senior leader Rajib Banerjee welcomed the party supremo at Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport. "I have come here to say that the TMC stood by you (common people) when there was no one else amid the torture inflicted by the BJP. Our people were also attacked and vehicles vandalised. Even senior leaders such as Kakali Ghosh Dastidar, Dola Sen and Sushmita Dev were not spared," she told reporters at the airport.
The TMC boss asserted that Tripura was her "second home". "I had extensively worked with Tripura leaders like Santosh Mohan Dev and Manoranjan Bhakta when the Congress stormed back to power in the state (in 1988). I know the northeastern state across its length and breadth -- from Sonamura to Kailashahar," she maintained.
"The most pleasant thing about this place is that I can speak in my native language. People of Tripura have a close connection with Bengal- be it food habits, clothing choices or lifestyles," the Bengal chief minister said, adding that she will be heading for Tripureswari temple from the airport to offer prayers.
Sources in the party said the TMC supremo will join a roadshow, covering all the important streets of the city, on Tuesday and address a rally next to Rabindra Bhavan here. Notably, the TMC had fought civic elections in Tripura in November 2021 and secured around 20 per cent of the total votes polled, overshadowing the CPI(M) and Congress. The party, however, failed to maintain the momentum in the by-elections held to four Assembly constituencies last year, with the BJP bagging three seats and the Congress one.
