Mamata to visit to 3 temples in Goa, meet fisherfolk

Panaji, Oct 29 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has a packed schedule on the second day of her three-day trip to Goa, which includes, visits to three iconic temples, an interaction with the fisherfolk and members of civil society and a media conference, along with a meeting with the Trinamool Congress officials of the state.

Banerjee, who's party has already engaged in a war of words over defacement of posters and banners with the BJP in poll-bound Goa, is also expected to chair a fresh round of inductees into the West Bengal-based political party during her visit.

On Friday, Banerjee is scheduled to visit the Shri Mahalasa Narayani temple at Mardol, the Mangueshi temple in Priol and the Tapobhoomi temple in Kundaim.

While the first two are popular landmarks in the temple hub of Ponda in South Goa, the Tapobhoomi temple is home to the Shree Datta Padmanabha Peeth, which is the spiritual seat of the Bhandari samaj, a politically significant caste grouping in Goa.

After crushing defeats in the 2012 Assembly polls and the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in Goa, the Trinamool Congress has announced that it will contest all 40 Assembly seats in the 2022 polls in Goa.

The party's poll strategy for Goa is being drawn by Banerjee's political strategist Prashant Kishor.