AGARTALA, Aug 5 (TIWN): Aiming to pave the way for TMC to make its hold in the upcoming Assembly election on the year 2018, TMC Supremo Mamata Banerjee is all set to arrive in the state on August 8 in Tripura.

According to the source TMC Supremo Mamata Banerjee would be arriving in the state on August 8 and would attend the mass rally on August at Swami Vivekananda stadium.

However, she will be arriving in the state at 4.50pm on August 8 and will attend the mass gathering on August 9.

Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee is all set to visit Tripura to strengthen Trinamool Congress in the state where it emerged as main opposition party.

In a setback to opposition Congress, six dissident MLAs in Tripura had joined TMC last week making it the main opposition party in the Left-ruled state.

Emboldened by the crossover of six Congress MLAs, the Trinamool Congress is set to woo the tiny northeastern state of Tripura, which has a substantial Bengali population, ahead of the 2018 Assembly elections. 

Banerjee, who has long held pan-India political ambitions, is looking to capitalize on the relative decline of Congress strongholds in the north-east. While the BJP is looking towards Manipur after successfully pulling of a victory in Assam, Banerjee hopes that with a win in Tripura she will also be able to expand her party’s base in the region.

But for Sarkar’s Left Front, the damage might already have been done as the Trinamool Congress is now in contention. As one CPM leader put it, “If there’s one thing that Banerjee knows how to do, it’s opposition politics.

She has always been a street fighter and the Left in Tripura has reason to be worried.”

Assembly election in 2018 are still a long way off. The Trinamool Congress’s strategy in the state is likely to be similar to the line they took in West Bengal – relentless opposition, continued dharnas and protests and looking to capitalize on the discontent of the people. For the Left in the state, the challenge will be to recover from the Left-Congress alliance in West Bengal.