Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee will visit Assam on May 11 to open a party office in Guwahati and meet with the leaders of northeast state units as the ruling party of West Bengal gears up to expand its footprint in the northeastern states.

The party has vowed to come to power in Tripura in the 2023 Assembly elections and believes a strong foothold on Assam will aid in the mission, along with helping in Meghalaya as well. For now, the TMC plans to start its mission in Assam from the panchayat elections.

Party insiders are banking on Susmita Dev, who jumped ship from the Congress to the TMC after West Bengal elections last year, to connect with the masses in Cachar and Silchar areas for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. She is also believed to have public acceptance in Tripura.

The seven states in the northeast together with Odisha and Bihar account for 100 Lok Sabha seats, making the combination an important focus area for all parties.

The TMC had recently roped in Ripun Bora who switched over from the Congress and appointed him Assam unit president.

“The Congress in Assam is almost in dying stages. There is huge vacuum in the opposition arena and we want to cash in on that,” a senior leader told News18.

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