Bhubaneswar: West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo, Mamata Banerjee arrived Tuesday here. Even though West Bengal officials have termed the trip as ‘personal’, Mamata Banerjee will meet her Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik on March 23. After the meeting she will leave for Kolkata, the same day.
“The West Bengal CM has arrived today and she will visit Puri Jagannath Temple,” informed said Odisha Minister of State (MoS) for Home, Tusharkanti Behera.
After her arrival here, Banerjee left for Puri straightaway. She will be staying at the ‘Nirman Nibas’ in Puri. Banerjee will visit the Jagannath Temple to offer her prayers Wednesday to the Holy Trinity.
“I will visit Puri Jagannath Temple to offer my prayers to the deities. The Odisha CM is one of most our senior leader and I will definitely meet him,” Banerjee said after reaching here.
Banerjee will reach Bhubaneswar around 4.30 pm Thursday and meet Patnaik at his residence before leaving for Kolkata, officials said.
Meanwhile, sources in West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress said the two non-BJP CMs may hold discussions on strategies for next year’s Lok Sabha polls. “Banerjee is the driving force behind the anti-BJP thrust. The two chief ministers could discuss strategies for the 2024 general elections when they meet,” a senior TMC leader said in Kolkata.
Only a few days back in Kolkata, the West Bengal chief minister had met Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav. After the meeting both Banerjee and Yadav had said that they will maintain equal distance from the BJP and the Congress.
When asked about the meeting between Banerjee and Patnaik, Behera said he has no idea regarding the agenda of the discussion. “The two chief ministers will discuss what they want to talk about when they meet March 23,” Behera stated.
Meanwhile Puri SP informed that elaborate security arrangements have been made for the visit of Mamata Banerjee to the pilgrim town as per the protocol.