TMC is looking to emerge as the main challenger to the ruling parties in Meghalaya.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is in Shillong for a two-day visit ahead of the Assembly Elections in Meghalaya early next year. Chief Minister Banerjee will be addressing a Trinamool Congress workers' convention to boost the morale of party functionaries to prepare them for the upcoming elections.
Ms Banerjee, accompanied by Abhishek Banerjee, arrived in Shillong on Monday afternoon and the entire scenic route from the Umroi airport to the city saw hundreds of people gathered along the roads that were decorated with TMC flags and posters of the Bengal Chief Minister.
The TMC is the main opposition party in the north-eastern state and will be looking to dislodge the ruling coalition led by Conrad Sangma under the leadership of Mukul Sangma. The BJP which is part of the ruling coalition is likely to fight on its own and dump the existing alliance in the state. The TMC is likely to consider an alliance as former chief minister Mukul Sangma is the face of the party after he switched to the TMC from the Congress.
The Trinamool is looking to emerge as the main challenger to the ruling parties in poll-bound Meghalaya and Tripura and after Mr Sangma, along with 11 sitting Congress MLAs, joined the Trinamool in November last year, the party believes it has a chance to perform well in a tribal-dominated state.
This morning, Ms Banerjee interacted with the victims of the Mukroh border clash in a closed-door meeting at Pinewood Hotel, Shillong.
Six people, including a forest guard from Assam, were killed in firing by Assam Police in Meghalaya's Mukroh village on November 22. She handed out compensation of Rs 5 lakh to each of the families of the victims.
The Mukroh village firing incident had become a major political issue with the TMC alleging that the Meghalaya government had not done enough for its citizens given the influence of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Meghalaya complained that Assam Police and forest guards had "entered the state and resorted to unprovoked firing".