In a surprising gesture, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, extended a hand of support to the Congress in 2024 Lok Sabha elections in states where the party holds significant sway.
Mamata Banerjee emphasized that such support would be contingent upon the reciprocal backing of her own Trinamool Congress in that respective state. However, the Congress leadership in the state has rebuffed this overture.
"Since the beginning, I had been saying that the parties having strengths in respective regions should directly take on BJP there... like AAP in Delhi, RJD-JD-U in Bihar, Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh and DMK-Congress in Tamil Nadu and Trinamool Congress in West Bengal. We supported Congress in Karnataka, now they should reciprocate the same to us in West Bengal. It is not right that in Karnataka they will enjoy our support and oppose us in West Bengal," Banerjee said.
Citing the Chief Minister's reluctance to acknowledge the national impact of Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra as an affirmation of her perception of the Congress, the party leaders pointed out difference with her party at the national level on several fronts.
The state Congress President Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has rejected all her claims of supporting Congress in Karnataka.
"She is claiming to raise the slogan of no vote to BJP in Karnataka. But even for once did she issue an appeal to the people of Karnataka to vote for Congress? Our fight against Trinamool Congress in West Bengal will continue," Chowdhury said.
On Saturday, after the Karnataka election results were announced, the Chief Minister, through a Twitter message as well as through her statements made to media persons, congratulated the people of Karnataka for the results.
However, she remained silent about Congress even when media persons questioned her on this matter. "I have said whatever I had to say," she said. Chowdhury immediately reacted and said that Trinamool is actually against a united opposition alliance.
"Her (Mamata Banerjee's) party MPs abstained from voting when we fielded a united opposition candidate against Jagdeep Dhankhar in the polls for Vice President. Trinamool is also disinclined to any floor coordination within the Parliament," he said.
(With inputs from IANS)
