West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is prone to meet her Tamil Nadu counterpart MK Stalin in Chennai on Wednesday, sources within the state authorities stated on Tuesday. Banerjee will fly to Chennai to attend the birthday perform of West Bengal Governor La Ganesan’s elder brother on Thursday. Sources stated Banerjee was prone to go to Stalin quickly after reaching the Tamil Nadu capital.
With this transfer, political observers stated, Mamata is making a play for the function of the face of the Opposition, out to sew collectively an alliance of regional events in opposition to the BJP-led authorities on the Centre. The scheduled go to drew flak from the Opposition that criticised Banerjee’s plan to attend the household programme of a “short-term” governor on taxpayers’ cash.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) investigations into numerous scams and subsequent arrests of senior celebration leaders dealt a significant blow to the Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) prospects in nationwide politics. The celebration management is making an attempt to set its home so as first earlier than taking the problem to the BJP in different states.
Until December final yr, Banerjee made makes an attempt to emerge because the Opposition’s pivot in opposition to the BJP on the nationwide stage. Her credentials obtained a lift in Could 2021 following her re-election as West Bengal CM for the third straight time period. After that, she crisscrossed the nation in a bid to place herself because the lead Opposition participant in opposition to the BJP dispensation. Banerjee met a slew of Opposition leaders — from then Congress president Sonia Gandhi to Nationalist Congress Get together (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar — to determine her function in stitching up an overarching Opposition alliance in opposition to the BJP. Banerjee’s efforts weren’t restricted to solely visiting Opposition leaders as her celebration continued to develop its footprint throughout the nation by inducting leaders from numerous events, particularly the Congress.
With Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee taking part in a key function within the TMC’s growth plan, the celebration sought to strengthen its organisation in a number of northeastern states similar to Tripura, Meghalaya, and Assam, to not point out the foray into electoral politics in Goa. The celebration additionally prolonged help to Samajwadi Get together chief Akhilesh Yadav within the Uttar Pradesh Meeting polls earlier this yr.
However following an electoral debacle in Goa and the toppling of the Uddhav Thackeray-led authorities in Maharashtra, the TMC’s nationwide plans got here to a shuddering halt.
However Banerjee has not given up on her hopes of shaping an anti-BJP entrance forward of the overall elections in 2024. At a TMC rally in September, she claimed that she would be part of fingers with different Opposition and regional leaders to defeat the BJP in 2024. “All Opposition events will be part of fingers to defeat the BJP. All of us will probably be on one aspect and the BJP on the opposite. The BJP’s conceitedness of 300 seats will probably be its nemesis. There will probably be ‘Khela Hobe’ in 2024,” she stated.
Sources within the TMC stated that with the Congress perceived to be gaining momentum within the nation by way of its “Bharat Jodo Yatra”, TMC is as soon as once more making makes an attempt to succeed in out to regional events. “The management by no means overpassed its goal for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Plenty of issues came about within the meantime that required the celebration’s consideration. As soon as they’re settled, the celebration will certainly resume its nationwide plans,” stated a senior TMC chief who didn’t want to be named.
TMC state normal secretary Kunal Ghosh attributed the dearth of the celebration’s actions nationally to the festive season. “As soon as this festive season is over, the management will resume its work for nationwide politics. Our nationwide normal secretary Abhishek Banerjee can be again from the US after eye surgical procedure. As soon as he’s totally accessible, the celebration will give full thrust to execute our celebration plans,” stated Ghosh.
Opposition criticises CM
The BJP, in the meantime, took a jibe at Banerjee for as soon as once more reaching out to different events. “Earlier too, she tried to forge an alliance of Opposition events in opposition to the BJP. However her plans fell flat because the BJP emerged victorious within the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and elevated its seats. This time additionally, Banerjee will fail in her effort to carry opposition events collectively,” stated state BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya.
Senior BJP chief Rahul Sinha described the proposed assembly between Banerjee and Stalin as an “completely meaningless” one. He added, “She went to Goa, Tripura and Assam and she or he may nothing wherever. The purpose is that the TMC has no relevance exterior Bengal. She will roam across the nation, however that won’t yield any outcome.” Banerjee, he stated, should take into consideration her celebration’s enterprise in Bengal earlier than holding conferences with Stalin and others.
State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury described Banerjee’s go to as “nothing however an try to revive her misplaced credentials in Indian politics”. He stated, “I see no purpose why Banerjee goes to Chennai to attend the party of one of many relations of the governor. I believe it is a ploy to develop a great relationship with the Centre in order that West Bengal doesn’t get one other Jagdeep Dhankhar as its governor.”
On the proposed assembly between Banerjee and Stalin, who can be the president of Congress ally DMK, Chowdhury stated, “Didi (how Banerjee is popularly referred to) is aware of that she has misplaced her credibility in nationwide politics. She had held a number of such conferences with many leaders earlier however these had failed miserably. That is the rationale she deliberate this so-called assembly with Stalin. I see this as her try to attempt to restore her misplaced relevance in Indian politics.”
CPI(M) chief Sujan Chakraborty referred to as Banerjee’s journey an “excuse” to depart Bengal at a time when persons are on the streets demanding jobs. “I don’t see any logic behind a chief minister visiting the household programme of the governor on taxpayers’ cash. She is definitely escaping the state when job aspirants are holding demonstrations demanding employment. She is under no circumstances bothered about them and is fleeing from actuality.”
— With PTI inputs