In a first ever public meeting at Agartala, Mamata Banerjee gave a clarion call to oust the Left Front from power in Tripura. “Time has come for Left Front to leave Tripura. Time has come for ‘poriborton’. After 34 years of misrule, there is a surge of development in Bengal. We want the same for Tripura,” said the Trinamool Congress supremo. 

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Tripura is going to polls only in 2018, but through her speech, Mamata Banerjee made it clear that she was laying ground to fight elections in the state.

'Ashtabler math’— as the venue for the public meeting is popularly known—was packed with hundreds of people, mostly Congressmen, who are all set to switch sides in hordes in the days to come. 

Trinamool Congress does not have a base in Tripura, hence Mamata Banerjee and her party are trying to foray into the tribal-dominated state through various means. She has entrusted her lieutenant, Mukul Roy, with the task of expanding the party’s base in the state. 

The turning point in Tripura’s politics came when Sudip Ray Burman, the son of former chief minister Samir Ranjan Burman, joined Trinamool Congress this year. Keeping him in the forefront, Trinamool Congress hopes to turn the tide in the electoral battles ahead. 

During her speech, Mamata enticed voters through the various projects in Bengal.  “In Bengal, people get free treatment across all state-run hospitals. Over 40 lakh school-going children receive cycles from the state government. We are giving rice at Rs 2 per kg. Potatoes cost Rs 35-40 in Tripura, but we have set up fair price shops in Bengal, where it is sold at Rs 14,” said Banerjee, adding, “There are no jobs, industries here. No hospital to treat people and no education for the children. We are going to oust the Left Front from the state and bring in development here.”