Mamata arrives in state, to meet Naveen tomorrow

Bhubaneswar: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee reached Odisha on Tuesday as part of her three-day state visit during which she will pay obeisance to Lord Jagannath in Puri and also meet her Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik, at the latter's residence.

Asked what the discussion will be when the two CMs meet, Mamata said, "Arre Bhai, Naveen Jee Hamara senior leader hay. Meet Karna hay. (Naveen Jee is our senior leader; we will meet)."

She, however, did not elaborate on the issue. "Iam here to offer my puja at the Jagannath Temple in Puri," she added, before leaving for Puri by road, even as speculations swirled regarding the nature of discussion the two would have on Thursday given that it comes in the backdrop of Mamata meeting former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav in Kol- kata on March 17. She is also likely to meet former Karnataka CM and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy in Kolkata on March 24 in an apparent bid to forge a non-BJP, non-Congress opposition ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

BJD insiders, though, said the party won't be part of any attempt to make a third front. Asked about the forthcoming meeting, minister of state for home Tusharkanti Behera sa id. "When two CMs meet, only they will know what they will discuss. How can I speak on their behalf? You will get to know about it after they meet on Thursday." Behera had go- ne to Bhubaneswar airport to receive Mamata. Responding to a media query on what he would discuss with Mamata, Naveen said, "Nothing has been discussed yet."

Sources said apart from offering puja at the 12th century Jagannath Temple on Wednesday, Mamata is scheduled to review the progress on a proposed guest house being built on a piece of land allot- ted to West Bengal by the Odisha government at Balia- panda area of Puri.

Puri district collector Samarth Verma said elaborate arrangements have been made for Mamata's smooth darshan of the deities.