Divided in State, but United for the Center? Congress and Mamata Compete for Space in Battleground Bengal
Mamata Banerjee, the leader of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), and Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Congress, were seen sitting apart at the Opposition conference last week in Patna, but they spoke as Banerjee was leaving.
The strategy put forward so far to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is ‘one to one’ on each seat. According to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, things would start to take form at the next conference in Shimla.
The TMC claims that the Congress, BJP, and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM) are working together to defeat Banerjee’s party on the ground in Bengal in a number of locations. There can’t possibly be any “understanding” given the “enmity” between the TMC and Congress.
Banerjee remarked, “We are trying to make ‘Mahajot’ in Delhi, but here the Congress, CPIM and BJP has made ‘Mahaghot’ behind me,” in the Panchayat campaign gathering. Their ‘Mahaghot’ will be broken by me.
The remark demonstrates that, despite the possibility of an alliance at the center, the TMC would not allow the Congress any room in Bengal.
A BJP-Congress poster was posted in the meanwhile by TMC State General Secretary and Spokesperson Kunal Ghosh. @kharge, can you see this? This is how your party will fight in Bengal. They’re acting like an NDA partner. While @AITCofficial is battling the BJP, your party is attempting to give the latter more airtime. You should decide who your opponent is first. This political climate has rendered Congress useless.
Adhir Choudhury, the head of the Congress, on the other side, disparaged the TMC. He said on Saturday: “Nitish ji contacted us, Mamata ji asked Rahul ji how he was, and he responded badly… Mamata must go there since she is obligated to. Congress constantly opposes the BJP. Mamata ji had made negative remarks against Rahul ji a few days before. She has not spoken about Bharat Jodo.
The Patna conference has been dubbed a “wedding reception” by the BJP in the meantime. Let them interact. Rahul Ji was requested to be married by Lalu Ji.They are free to act whatever they choose, but they can’t beat the BJP.
