A delegation from this new party met Trinamool chief Mayawati at her Kalighat home in south Kolkata on Wednesday night, and requested her to talk to AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha for a possible alliance ahead of the 2009 general polls.

State Secretary (Tamil Nadu) C K Soman said, “We had set up the party three years ago but there was not much activity. Mamatadi’s recent agitation in Singur and Nandigram — her 26-day fast on the land acquisition issue — has enhanced her image in our state. As a direct fallout, the membership of our party has doubled this last year — from 12,000 to 25,000.” Soman added that the party is raising its voice on many issues, from price hike to corruption. “We want Mamatadi to visit us and address rallies down south. That will boost the morale of our workers,” he said. The team hopes Mamata Banerjee will be able to convince Jayalalitha the way she ruled over voters in the recent panchayat elections.

On her part, the Trinamool leader is sending former MP Dinesh Trivedi to Chennai on June 26 to check how the southern unit is faring. Mamata Banerjee said, “Dinesh Trivedi is in-charge of our Tamil Nadu unit. I will go after him. Meanwhile, they will carry on with the various issue-based agitations.”

Mamata’s “simplicity and honesty” impressed the delegates. “In our state, most leaders are corrupt. But look at Mamatadi. I am astonished to see she lives in a simple home. I could not believe that this dilapidated house belongs to a national leader,” said party member Jaya Kumar, a small businessman from Kancheepuram.

R Muthammal, state secretary of Tamil Nadu Thirunamool Mahila Congress, said: “Mamatadi has a clean image and she is very popular in our state, especially among women. We are waiting for her visit.”