Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee on Sunday found herself rejected as a potential ally against the first Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state by all other opposition parties, including the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Congress.
Even though his party is not in power in any Indian state for the first time in 49 years, after it lost the Kerala elections, CPI(M) State Minister Mohammad Salim said in response to the proposal made by Banerjee on Saturday, “Absolutely not. We will not accept anyone who is identified as a criminal, extortionist, corrupt or communal. We will stand by the people and the marginalized population.”
On Saturday, when BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari took oath as prime minister and five other MLAs took oath as ministers in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Banerjee issued a video message urging opposition parties to unite against the BJP.
“I urge all opposition parties in Bengal, student organizations and NGOs to unite against the BJP… Besides national parties, I urge leftists and ultra-leftists to unite in Bengal as well as in Delhi. If any political party wants to talk to me, I am available. We must remember that our number one enemy is the BJP,” she said.
State Congress spokesperson Soumya Aish Roy said: “We cannot believe our ears. You (Banerjee) have invited national parties, suggesting the Congress, the Left and the far left to join you. What do you mean by far left? Do you mean the Maoists, who killed 18 Congress leaders and workers in Chhattisgarh on May 25, 2013?”
Reacting to her statement, CM Adhikari said: “It has nothing to do with politics.”
In the latest opinion polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party won 207 seats out of 294 seats, compared to 80 seats for the TMC. The Congress Party and the Left Front won only two and one seat, respectively. After failing to win any seat in the recent 2021 polls, the Left and Congress are not contesting as allies this year.
Roy referred to the alliance of 13 parties, including the Congress and the Left Front, which contested against the TMC in the 2016 Bengal assembly elections and won 77 seats.
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“Congress is fighting BJP all over India. When we formed an alliance in 2016, you called us names. You ran a smear campaign against us even in the recent polls. All these years, you made every effort to eliminate us and thus widen the way for BJP. And now you want us on your side?” Roy added.
Communist Party of India (CPI) State Secretary Swapan Banerjee said, “The question of joining forces with Banerjee is off the table. Democracy was in danger during her regime. Her mentality is so authoritarian that she did not resign from the post of Prime Minister after her defeat.”
Also read: ‘No. 1 enemy is BJP’: Mamata calls for UP unity in Bengal as Suvendu takes oath as chief minister
Although not part of the West Bengal Left Front, the CPI-M (Liberation) party contested the last elections as its ally, but was unable to win any seat. “Mamata Banerjee has always been a right-wing leader and represents an oppressive government. The Left forces must unite and prepare for a bigger fight,” party state secretary Abhijit Majumdar said.
The TMC has appointed veteran Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, the winner from Kolkata’s Ballygunge, as Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly. Asima Patra and Naina Bandopadhyay (wife of Lok Sabha member Sudeep Bandopadhyay) as deputy leaders; and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim as Chief Whip.
