Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee brewed tea at a village stall during her official visit to state's coastal town Digha. In a video, that instantly sparked buzz on social media, Banerjee was seen making tea for her colleagues and interacting with the locals.
While inspecting the area to ensure better facilities for tourists, Banerjee suddenly stopped her convoy in front of a tea shack. Before anyone could guess, 'Didi' simply walked into the shack and asked the owner if she could make tea for the customers. The chief minister, who is known for her fiery speeches, is heard asking people not to burn their hands while enjoying their tea.
The tea stall owner was taken aback by her gesture and greeted Banerjee with folded hands and helped her brew tea. She served tea to her party leaders Suvendu Adhikary, Shishir Adhikary, Subrata Mukherjee and other officials. In the meantime, a large number of local people gathered in the area to have a glimpse of the chief minister. She distributed cupcakes, chocolates among the children. "Sometimes the little joys in life can make us happy. Making and sharing some nice tea (cha/chai) is one of them. Today, in Duttapur, Digha," she tweeted. Earlier in the year 2014, she was seen playing badminton in Bolpur during an administrative meeting.
As Mamata is facing a strong anti-incumbency wave in Bengal which brought her tally from 34 to 22 seats in the recently held Lok Sabha polls, team 'PK' (Prashant Kishor) is silently working on a 'complete image makeover' of TMC chief. Party leaders felt that this could be her initiative towards an image makeover after poll strategist Prashant Kishor advised her to keep things 'measured'.
BJP hosts 'Dada ke Bolun' Tea Party
Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to launch 'dada ke bolun' (tell dada) involving state's chief Dilip Ghosh to counter Trinamool Congress' 'didi ke bolo' (dial didi - Mamata Banerjee) programme. According to the BJP strategists, the party's local leadership will organise tea parties at various locations of the state where Ghosh would reach out to the people and listen to their grievances and advice.
The state BJP has already come out with a video on the programme which reveals the poster of Ghosh sipping tea. In 'didi ke bolo' people have been given a helpline number which is mostly received by Trinamool volunteers and one has to go through various levels to speak to Banerjee over phone. In contrast, Ghosh would be physically present at various localities.
