Pune:

Reacting to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s reported statement about being “willing to lead the INDIA alliance,” Nationalist Congress Party (SCP) MP Supriya Sule said that they will be happy if the TMC chief took on more responsibility within the opposition alliance.

Speaking to ANI, Supriya Sule stated that the West Bengal Chief Minister is an integral part of the INDIA alliance.

“Mamata Banerjee is absolutely an integral part of the INDIA alliance. In a vibrant democracy, the opposition has a big role and responsibility, so if she wants to take more responsibility, we will be very happy,” Supriya Sule told ANI.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also said that she has shown a successful model in West Bengal where she has kept BJP away from power.

“She has put forward her statement. Because she has shown a successful model in West Bengal where she has kept the BJP away from power and implemented good welfare schemes…her election experience and fighting spirit, accordingly she has shared her interest. Whenever the INDIA bloc meeting takes place, our senior leaders will together take a decision,” Priyanka Chaturvedi said.

Earlier, on December 3, in response to a query regarding TMC leaders suggesting that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee should be made the INDIA bloc leader days after Congress faced a crushing defeat in Maharashtra assembly polls, party MP Kirti Azad said that the ruling TMC supremo takes everyone along.

“Mamata Banerjee has a 100 percent record. Whenever Prime Minister Narendra Modi faced a humiliating defeat, it was only in West Bengal… Whenever he comes to insult Bengal and its honour, her vote share increases,” the TMC leader said.

He further said that Mamata Banerjee is known for her articulate views. “She is a very senior leader. She speaks clearly.”

He also said that Mamata Banerjee is a household name across the country.

“She (Mamata Banerjee) resides in every household in West Bengal, in every household in the country… Mamata Banerjee is someone who takes everyone together. She calls people only after making preparations and taking her time,” he said.

On November 26, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee suggested that one strong leader is needed to lead the INDIA bloc following the defeat of Congress in the Haryana and Maharashtra assembly elections. He had further said that the opposition alliance should be stronger to take on the BJP.

“The Congress has failed to achieve the desired result either in Haryana or in Maharashtra. We had tremendous hope from the Congress that they would do better. The INDIA alliance is there, but the expected result could not be achieved. And there is a great failure on the part of the Congress to achieve the result… Today it is necessary; if you want to fight against the BJP, the INDIA alliance should be stronger. And to make it stronger, one leader is required. Now who can be the leader? That’s the core question. Congress has done it. All experiments have been done, but they have failed…” Mamata Banerjee had said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

The Congress’ Bengal boss, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, on Thursday weighed in on the ‘is she, isn’t she’ debate over Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s membership of the INDIA opposition bloc.

Responding to her “… will provide outside support (if the group wins the election)” comment Wednesday, Mr Chowdhury declared, “I don’t trust her… she left the alliance. She can also go towards the BJP.”

“What she will do from outside (the alliance) or inside… I don’t know. That you have to ask her,” the Congress leader told reporters, “But I don’t trust her. She left the alliance… she could even run to BJP.”

Mr Chowdhury – there is little love lost between him and Ms Banerjee, a fact underlined by the latter yesterday explicitly stating “… INDIA alliance doesn’t count Bengal Congress…” – also said, “Whatever complaints she has (about the bloc) she should have raised earlier, when it was created.”

#WATCH | West Bengal: On CM Mamata Banerjee’s remarks “will support INDIA bloc from outside to form govt at Centre”, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury says, “I don’t trust her. She left the alliance and ran away. She can also go towards the BJP… They were talking about… pic.twitter.com/F3unHSUfD6

— ANI (@ANI) May 16, 2024

Mr Chowdhury further pointed out the apparent U-turn came after polling for nearly 70 per cent of all Lok Sabha seats, with the opposition bloc claiming big advances in its bid to oust the ruling BJP.

“They (referring to the BJP) were talking about destroying Congress and that Congress would not get 40 seats… but now (what) she is saying means Congress and INDIA are coming to power,” he said, appearing to suggest Ms Banerjee’s about-face followed a realisation the BJP will likely be defeated.

A day earlier Ms Banerjee – who had put her membership of the bloc on hold after public spats over seat-sharing deals – declared she would provide “outside support” in the event of an election win.

READ | Mamata Banerjee Redefines INDIA, Says Will Provide “Outside Support”

“We will give leadership to INDIA and help… from outside. We will form a government so our Bengal mothers and sisters… and those who work in 100-days job scheme do not face problems,” she said.

This afternoon, at a poll rally in Tamluk, Ms Banerjee underlined her position, saying, “I am very much part of INDIA… it was my brainchild. We are together at national level and will continue to be together.”

Ms Banerjee did, though, make it clear – yesterday and today – that she does not see the Congress’ state unit and the CPM, as allies. The Congress and the CPM, which is also part of the INDIA bloc, are allied in Bengal (but rivals in Kerala), but have fielded candidates against the Trinamool.

The Bengal Chief Minister has frequently attacked the Mr Chowdhury-led Congress unit, and the CPM, as having unofficially joined the BJP. “They are not with us… they are with the BJP here.”

Earlier this year, as the Congress was scrambling to confirm seat-share deals with INDIA allies ahead of voting for the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Ms Banerjee – seen as one of the group’s more cantankerous members – refused to play ball, insisting she would not give up more seats to that party than necessary.

READ | “No Tie-Up With Congress”: Mamata’s Bengal Twist Stuns INDIA Bloc

She pointed to the Congress’ abysmal record in the 2019 election – in which it won just two of 42 seats – and insisted her party had the best chance to defeat the BJP in the state.

Bengal has 42 Lok Sabha seats, of which the Trinamool won 22 last time and the BJP got 18, and Ms Banerjee reasoned the Congress simply did not have the clout to stop the saffron party in the state.

After a tension-filled few weeks in January and February, Ms Banerjee walked away from the bloc.

READ | “Even With Binoculars…”: Trinamool Sources On Congress’ 5-Seat Demand

Sources then told NDTV they could not find a third seat for the Congress “even with binoculars”.

This was after Ms Banerjee and the Congress’ Delhi unit failed to advance seat-share talks, and she hit out at what she said was a personal snub from Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’.

The Congress then said the opposition “cannot imagine INDIA without Mamataji“.

READ | “Cannot Imagine INDIA Without Mamataji“: Congress On “No Tie-Up” Jab

Amidst all this back-and-forth, Mr Chowdhury continued to attack the Trinamool, declaring Ms Banerjee – a former member of the Congress – owed her state success to the party’s “mercy”. In fact, Mr Chowdhury was fiercely opposed to the idea of an alliance with Ms Banerjee and the Trinamool.

READ | Behind INDIA Jolt, Adhir Ranjan’s Obstinacy, Trinamool’s Regional Card

The battle for Bengal is one of several headline points, with the BJP keen on continuing to make inroads into the state after its success in the 2019 general election and the 2021 state poll. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Ms Banerjee have all gone head-to-head on the campaign trail, with frequent sharp attacks on contentious topics like the citizenship law.

The state will continue to vote in each of the three remaining phases. Results are due on June 4.

With input from agencies

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