Mamata undertakes padayatra in north Bengal

Chopra: Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday undertook a padayatra in the northern part of the state.

Banerjee, who is currently in northern West Bengal for an administrative visit, took out the 'Jonosanjog Yatra' in Chopra town in Uttar Dinajpur. Later, she undertook another yatra in nearby Islampur.

As Banerjee traversed through Chopra town, she waved at onlookers and greeted them with folded hands. She was welcomed by party leaders and greeted by locals, including women and children, during the yatra.

Many were seen chanting 'Didi... Didi', while others showered flowers and some blew conch shells as the yatra passed through various localities.

TMC supporters carrying flags raised slogans, hailing Banerjee and the party.

Flanked by security guards, Banerjee interacted with locals. Later, she took out another yatra in Islampur town, around 30 km away. She walked for around one km in both towns.

Banerjee's march comes at a time when the TMC has pulled all the stops to regain ground in northern West Bengal lost to the BJP in the last Lok Sabha polls, during which the saffron party had bagged seven of the eight Lok Sabha seats in the region.

"The CM undertook padayatra as part of the TMC's 'Jonosanjog Yatra' in Chopra town this morning. At present, she is in Islampur where she undertook another yatra. She spoke to the locals and greeted them," a senior police officer told PTI.

She will be undertaking another yatra from Karnajora area to Raiganj, where she is scheduled to chair an administrative review meeting.

Speaking to reporters, Banerjee said her trip has been 'very fruitful', but refused to answer questions on Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', which has passed through the region.

TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee had launched the 'Jonosanjog Yatra' in April last year, and traversed across the state over the next two months.