Mamata pulls out 'Gotra' card, says, 'I am Shandilya'

West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday while addressing a public rally here on the last day of campaigning for the second phase of the Assembly polls declared that she is from the 'Shandilya' gotra.

"During my second campaign, I visited a temple where the priest enquired about my 'gotra'. I told him 'Maa Maati Manush'. This reminds me of my visit to Tripura's Tripureshwari temple where the priest had asked me my 'gotra' and I had told him too 'Maa Mati Manush', actually I am Shandilya."

'Shandilya' is one of the eight highest Brahmin Gotras. According to Bhagavat Purana, Shandilya was a prominent rishi who was the progenitor of the 'Shandilya' gotra.

Nandigram is gearing up for a high profile second phase of the state assembly elections on April 1 in which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee takes on her former ministerial colleague Suvendu Adhikari, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in December last year.

Mamata is levelling on Nandigram this time by not contesting from her home turf Bhabpur seat making this election more interesting.

The Left Front has fielded Minakshi Mukherjee, the state president of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) from Nandigram against Mamata and Adhikari.

In phase-II, 30 assembly constituencies from the districts of Bankura, South 24 Parganas, Purba Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur will go to polls to decide the fate of 171 candidates including 19 women.

The first phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections concluded with an estimated 79.79 per cent voter turnout on Saturday.

The polling for 31 seats in the third phase of the 294-member state assembly will be held on April 6.

The elections for 44 seats will be held in the fourth phase on April 10. Further, in the fifth phase on April 17, 45 seats will go to polls. The sixth phase is scheduled for April 22 when elections for 43 seats will be done. In the seventh phase on April 26, polling will be held for 36 seats. Finally, the eighth phase is scheduled for April 29 when 35 seats will go for polling.

The counting of votes will take place on May 2.

( With inputs from ANI )