KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday stressed on the need for political parties to unite against the Bharatiya Janata Party, asserting that the only reason why the BJP was in power at the Centre was that there is no alternative.
“You are there at the Centre because there is no alternative at the moment. The moment an alternative power comes up, you won’t stay in power any more. Political parties will have to come together to form an alternative power. Merely giving statements won’t serve any purpose,” Banerjee said, while targeting the BJP without naming it.
She was speaking at the party’s organizational meeting in Kolkata. Abhishek Banerjee, chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew and poll strategist Prashant Kishor also shared stage as they usually do.
Mamata Banerjee’s reiteration of the need for opposition parties to unite comes at the time the Trinamool Congress is making efforts to expand its footprint beyond West Bengal where it has been in power for a decade. The party fielded many candidates in Goa this year in alliance with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP). Some exit polls have predicted that the TMC may win a few seats this time.
“We are happy that within a span of three months, the TMC’s symbol has reached many houses. We could have done better had we started earlier. I thank the people of Goa before the results are declared,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}“We are happy that within a span of three months, the TMC’s symbol has reached many houses. We could have done better had we started earlier. I thank the people of Goa before the results are declared,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}The chief minister, who is seen to be keen to play a leading role in any coalition against the BJP at the Centre in 2024, recently campaigned for the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh. Sometimes one has to play a greater role without physically contesting the polls, she said on Tuesday, explaining her decision.
With the parliamentary elections scheduled in 2024 and state panchayat polls in 2023, the TMC supremo also laid out a blue print for the party leaders on how to go about preparing for the electoral test. She wasn’t just speaking about the Bengal elections.
“If you want to uproot the BJP in 2024, you will have to build a fort in every house. Such forts will have to be built in other states too including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Tripura, Assam, Rajasthan and Haryana among others. You have to remain active. If there is one tweet in the morning, another can viral in the afternoon. There is no time to waste,” she added.
BJP vice president Dilip Ghosh brushed aside Banerjee’s calls.
“There is no alternative to BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The TMC just wants to do negative politics and win elections by muscle power. Alternatives cannot be created like this. For that, one has to work for the development of the people and the country,” said Ghosh.