With Assembly elections slated to be held in the first half of next year, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday announced a monthly allowance of Rs 1,000 and free housing for around 8,000 poor Sanatan Brahmin priests in the state.

"Many priests from the Sanatan Brahmin sect in Bengal are financially weak. The state has decided to help them by providing a monthly allowance of Rs 1,000 and free homes under its housing scheme," Banerjee told the media at the state Secretariat.