What various leaders of her party have been saying for so long, what is being written in the daily mouthpiece of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) lately, has been taken one step further by TMC leader and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee herself. In her words, “In the course of time, the Trinamool Congress has now become the real face of the fight against the BJP. The people of the country are now dreaming of a new India around the Trinamool Congress.”
A few days ago, TMC Lok Sabha leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay said, “Rahul Gandhi has failed to be an alternative face to take on the BJP.” Now, in an article in the festival issue of the party’s mouthpiece, Mamata Banerjee has said: “Calls are coming from one state after another beyond the borders of Bengal—you come. Bengal is leading the way in building a new India.”
In response to the TMC’s stance, West Bengal Congress president Adhir Chowdhury alleged that the TMC was constantly attacking the Congress and was trying to shake the unity of the Opposition. According to observers, the meaning of the words “Bangla leadership” is to establish Mamata Banerjee’s leadership in the Opposition, although she has herself repeatedly said that it is not a big deal who will be the leader of the Opposition; the real objective is to remove the BJP.
In the article in the festival issue of the party’s mouthpiece, Mamata Banerjee said: “The people of the country demand that the fascist, authoritarian BJP should be removed from Delhi. People’s hopes revolve around the Trinamool Congress. We are not worried about the leadership of the alternative alliance. But the reality is that the Congress has to feel it. Otherwise, there will be gaps in the formation of alternative energy.”
Further, Banerjee has written: “In the recent past, the Congress has failed to confront the BJP in Delhi. The last two Lok Sabha elections are proof of that. If there is no fight in Delhi, the morale of the people will go down and the BJP will get some extra votes in elections in the states as well. That can’t be allowed to happen at all this time.” Besides highlighting the role of the Trinamool Congress in confronting the BJP, Mamata Banerjee said, “The whole country saw how the Trinamool Congress defeated the BJP in the Assembly elections. Those who are running (actually drowning) the country, all of them kept coming to Bengal like daily passengers and took to slander and abuse; they even used all the agencies. Yet, they could not defeat the Trinamool Congress. It is a history, it’s a model. The people of the country are relying on this model.”
At the same time, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also mentioned the need to form an alliance against the BJP with all, including the Congress. “We are never thinking of the stage without the Congress,” she said. She wrote, “We have to unite in the interest of the country, not in our own numbers. Alternative platforms need to be strengthened. That platform will be based on policy, on the basis of programmes.”
However, West Bengal Congress president Adhir Chowdhury said, “The Trinamool Congress wants to make Narendra Modi the Prime Minister for the third time. The Trinamool leader should make it clear first whether her opponent is Narendra Modi or Rahul Gandhi.” Mentioning the incident in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, Chowdhury said, “The BJP is backing two parties from behind just to destroy the Congress—one is called AAP, and the another is called Trinamool Congress. In the Lakhimpur Kheri case, too, everyone else was stopped from going to Lakhimpur Kheri, but the TMC delegation was allowed to proceed to meet the victims’ families.” Adhir Chowdhury added: “In a country where the Congress is fighting, the TMC will go and harm the Congress and, in turn, help the BJP.”