Actor Swara Bhasker, film-maker Mahesh Bhatt, lyricist Javed Akhtar, film-maker and former journalist Pritish Nandy, and activist Medha Patkar, editors of popular media outlets and eminent Marathi personalities have all made it to the guest list of Mamata Banerjee’s meet and greet in Mumbai Wednesday.
The gala event is all set to take place at the Y.B. Chavan Centre in Nariman Point later in the afternoon. The Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister is in Mumbai for a two-day visit, packed with political and business meetings.
But for the first time in the Maximum City, Mamata will be interacting with eminent personalities from different walks of life who’ve made a name for themselves in their respective fields.
“This is the first time Mamata Banerjee is coming to Mumbai after her third consecutive win in the state elections. The entire country saw her defeat the combined might of Modi and Shah. So naturally there’s a lot of interest and excitement amongst the people here in Mumbai,” one of the chief planners told ThePrint.
“We have organised an interaction where personalities from the field of art, cinema, literature, media and others can meet Mamata in person and understand her vision for the country,” he added.
Earlier, when the TMC supremo visited Goa, she interacted with “influencers”. That meeting was arranged by the Prashant Kishor-led IPAC, which has been assisting the party since the West Bengal elections.
In its approach, the TMC appears to be taking a leaf out of the BJP’s playbook.
It’s been a long-standing practice in the BJP to interact with distinguished persons in society. In the run-up to the West Bengal elections, the BJP brass including Home Minister Amit Shah had held intellectuals’ meets in Kolkata.
RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat too was seen visiting homes of artistes in the city.