To bolster Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) influence in North Bengal, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be on a three-day visit to the region from May 19, especially when the 2026 Assembly election is barely a few months away.

Days before her visit, the party camp received a shot in the arm as former Union Minister of State and BJP MP John Barla switched over to TMC on May 15. The party workers have an inkling that the CM’s visit to North Bengal will influence more Opposition leaders to TMC and thereby strengthen their base in a fairly weaker front in North Bengal.

Banerjee has already announced that on Monday, she will attend a “synergy” business conference and on Tuesday, a government distribution programme at Odlabari.

The main programme of the Chief Minister is on Wednesday, where she will participate in an administrative review meeting at Uttar Kanya, where officials of all district administrations will participate. District officials of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, and Coochbehar will attend the meeting physically, while officials of Maldah, Uttar Dinajpur, and Dakshin Dinajpur will attend the meeting virtually.

“After this year’s Durga Puja, the state will enter the election mode. So, we have four to five months to complete all the development work. The Chief Minister wants to review all these works and set a timeline to complete all the projects properly,” a senior officer of state administration said.

On the other hand, the party leadership expects Banerjee to give necessary advice to the district leadership ahead of the Assembly election.

A senior TMC leader expressed optimism in improving their result in North Bengal. “Not only John Barla, another BJP MLA, Suman Kanjilal joined our team, which has also strengthened our organisation. We are expecting more BJP MLAs and leaders to join our party, and we will knock down the footings of the BJP in North Bengal. This time the BJP may gain in South Bengal, but they will lose in North Bengal.”