Mamata invites Shinde to GTA oath-taking ceremony

"Yes," the Chief Minister told PTI confirming the invitation to Shinde.

Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Samar Ghosh told reporters that Shinde has accepted Banerjee's invitation saying that he would be present at the ceremony.

There are a total 45 seats in the GTA, 28 of which have been won uncontested by the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), the dominant political force in the Darjeeling hill areas.

Voting to fill up 17 seats in the newly-formed GTA in Darjeeling hills was held on July 29.

Ending two decades of uncertainty in the Darjeeling hills, a historic tripartite agreement for a new council (GTA) with more powers was signed on July 18, 2011, as West Bengal ruled out any division of the state.

The agreement for Gorkhaland Territorial Administration was signed in the presence of the then Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, Mamata Banerjee and GJM president Bimal Gurung.