4 signs Mamata Banerjee may be having second thoughts on INDIA bloc

The majority of seats have already been contested for in the Lok Sabha elections with only three more phases to go before the results are announced on June 4. With half of the election already gone by, political leaders are playing their cards cautiously.

Among them is Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who is likely to have got a whiff of how the result might turn out. Banerjee on Wednesday made a big announcement about her party’s next step during the ongoing elections, one that has created ripples among political circles.

Last year, all the major Opposition political parties formed a grand alliance called the INDIA bloc. At first, the bloc appeared to be promising, with leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, and even Mamata Banerjee, showcasing the strength of togetherness that had one key goal in mind: defeating the BJP and taking the country forward jointly.

As days progressed toward elections, cracks developed in the alliance. While other political parties have been found contributing to the rift within INDI Alliance, TMC has time and again come on the edge about its support to the bloc.

In its latest, Mamata Banerjee said that TMC will support the INDIA bloc from the ‘outside.’ However, this is not the first time TMC has flip-flopped on its decision to back the grand alliance.

West Bengal, which has 42 constituencies, is polling on all seven phases of Lok Sabha elections with key leaders from TMC, BJP, Congress and CPI(M) in the fray.

‘Will support INDIA from outside’

“BJP is claiming that it will win 400 seats, but people are saying it will not happen. The entire country has understood that the BJP is a party full of thieves. We (TMC) will support the INDIA bloc from outside to form a government at the Centre. We will extend our support so that in (West) Bengal, our mothers and sisters never face a problem… and those who work in the 100 days’ job scheme, also do not face problems,” the West Bengal chief minister said on Wednesday.

Congress candidate from West Bengal’s Behrampore Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who had once urged voters to better vote for BJP than TMC, said, “I don’t trust her. She left the alliance and ran away.”

#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

Congress has invariably taken the majority of blows in such cases, being the largest national party in the alliance. Although TMC and the grand old party have been at odds in West Bengal for a long time, their coming together for the alliance was hoped to bring some calm.

‘Don’t waste vote on Congress’

Mamata Banerjee thinks voting for Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), both of which are part of the INDI Alliance, would ultimately benefit the BJP by splitting votes.

Clearing the air on her own comment on support for the alliance, Banerjee on Thursday said, “Lot of people misunderstood me. We will be in the INDIA bloc. I made INDIA bloc,” urging voters not to cast their votes to Congress or CPI(M).

In April, Banerjee made similar comments where she claimed to have “made” the INDI Alliance. She also accused these parties of “joining hands with BJP.”

“There is no INDIA alliance in West Bengal. I played a key role in the formation of the opposition alliance INDIA. Even the name of the alliance was given by me. But here in West Bengal, the CPI (M) and Congress are working for the BJP,” the TMC leader said.

While Banerjee shares a decent rapport with Sonia Gandhi, the leader has constantly been under attack by senior Congress leaders in the state including Chowdhury and Abdul Mannan over TMC’s governance.

The many cases of corruption in the state under TMC, including the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) scam, have become a focal point this election season. Congress and CPI(M), the two main opposition parties in West Bengal have not fallen short to criticise the Mamata Banerjee-led party for taking the state’s development to a new low by committing crimes.

TMC fights alone

Earlier this year, Mamata Banerjee announced that her party would contest all the 42 seats in West Bengal alone, one of the first signs of the party doing away with the INDI Alliance.

Her reason? Congress “refused” all of Mamata’s seat sharing proposals. “Whatever proposal I gave them, they have refused all…Since then, we have decided to go alone in Bengal,” Banerjee said.

In response to her claim, Congress said, “The Indian National Congress has repeatedly declared its desire to have a respectable seat-sharing agreement with the TMC in West Bengal. The Indian National Congress has always maintained that such an agreement has to be finalised through negotiations and not by unilateral announcements.”

The apparent disagreement over seat sharing stems from Mamata’s previous battles with Congress. The leader has accused the grand old party of “fighting against her everyday” in the past. She wants Congress to support regional parties like regional parties support it and nothing less.

“I am giving you the support, but you are fighting against me every day. It should not be the policy. It is for everybody. If you want to get some good things, then you have to sacrifice yourself also, in some areas,” she had said earlier.

‘Congress’ Nyay Yatra a strategy to appease Muslims’

When Rahul Gandhi launched his second all-India rally, the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Mamata Banerjee said it is one of the many ways through which Congress is trying to appease Muslims.

She even spelt doubt over Congress’ victory in the Lok Sabha polls. “I proposed that Congress contest 300 seats (across the country where BJP is the main opposition), but they refused to heed. Now, they’ve arrived in the state to stir up Muslim voters. I doubt whether they will secure even 40 seats if they contested 300.”

The yatra passed through West Bengal and for Banerjee the campaign was a “mere photo opportunity” for “migratory birds” in the state.