WATCH: Mamata Banerjee serves paani puri in Darjeeling!

Darjeeling: From taking her political rivals head-on to making explosive comments, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has always been a newsmaker. And now, she is once again in news for a unique reason - on her three-day visit to the hill town of Darjeeling in West Bengal, Mamata was seen dishing out tasty phuchkas - or paani puri - to the people! And from kids to senior citizens, a crowd had gathered and they were served phuchkas by none other than the chief minister.  

 

#WATCH | West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee serves panipuri to people at a stall, during her visit to Darjeeling. pic.twitter.com/07o8lsxdKN

— ANI (@ANI) July 12, 2022

Mamata Banerjee began her three-day visit to Darjeeling on Monday (July 11). The main purpose was to attend the oath-taking ceremony of 45 newly elected members of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), a senior official had said. The CM arrived at Bagdogra Airport near Siliguri in the afternoon, and attend the swearing-in ceremony at Darjeeling Chowrasta, popularly known as Mall, on Tuesday, he said. "The CM is scheduled to return to Kolkata on Thursday," the official said.

As per reports, after the swearing-in ceremony, CM Mamata was headed from Richmond Hill towards the Darjeeling zoo. On the way, she came across a paani puri stall and that's when the CM decided to serve paani puris or phuchkas to the people there. Obviously, seeing Mamata in the role of 'paani pui seller', a crowd gathered near the stall. The CM didn't disappoint and was seen handing over the paani puris -  after filling them with the aloo-matar stuffing and tamarind water - to the kids and others gathered there! She also spoke to the people there.

Meanwhile, the 10-month-old Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), helmed by former GTA chairman Anit Thapa, emerged victorious in the recently held GTA elections, winning 27 seats in the 45-member semi-autonomous council. BGPM is a breakaway faction of the Bimal Gurung-led Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) which boycotted the GTA polls held after a decade in the hills.

Another newly floated outfit, Hamro Party, and the Trinamool Congress bagged eight and five seats respectively, while five independent candidates emerged victorious in the GTA polls held on June 26. Thapa formed BGPM in September last year. He shares a cordial relationship with the TMC, the ruling party of West Bengal, and even met Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata recently extending an invitation to attend the swearing-in ceremony.