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Mamata Banerjee had made her stand clear on INDIA convener post: TMC
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge was named as the chairperson of the INDIA bloc while Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, whose name was proposed as the convenor, turned down his appointment saying he would only accept the role when all parties reach a consensus
Kolkata: Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee had expressed her disapproval over the proposal of making Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar the convener of INDIA in the alliance’s Mumbai meeting held in September 2023, TMC leaders said.
“Only Mamata Banerjee will speak on this INDIA-alliance issue. But if I am correct, she has already cleared the party’s stand on the proposal of making Nitish Kumar the convener, with other members of the alliance,” a veteran TMC leader said.
A virtual meeting of the Opposition-led Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc leaders was held on Saturday to review the seat-sharing agenda and important matters related to the alliance.
In the virtual meeting Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge was named as the chairperson of the alliance. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, whose name was proposed as the convenor, turned down his appointment saying he would only accept the role when all parties reach a consensus.
“TMC is playing a very crucial role in the alliance and Mamata Banerjee is an important senior face of the alliance. Several processes take place when a communication is going on. It is not always rational to bring each and every of these processes out in the open and discuss them,” the leader said.
The West Bengal chief minister skipped the virtual meeting of the INDIA-alliance held on Saturday as she was preoccupied with prior engagements. TMC leaders said that Banerjee received the information about Saturday’s meeting around 5.30pm on Friday.
“Mamata Banerjee received the invitation at the last moment. She already had something scheduled. The primary issue is whether there is communication between the allies or not. There is communication,” said Kunal Ghosh, TMC spokesperson.
The BJP took a dig at Banerjee and the alliance saying there was no consensus among the alliance partners.
“No one wants to become the captain of a boat with a hole. If there had been even a ray of hope of becoming the Prime Minster, Mamata Banerjee would have jumped in. She giving up the post of the INDIA-head itself means that the alliance has no chance of winning. They found Kharge as a scapegoat. Even Nitish Kumar has understood this,” Sukanta Majumdar, state BJP president, told media.
“You may ask this question to Mamata Banerjee. It is not my job to know where each and everyone is going or not going,” Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Congress MP, told media persons in Berhampore.
“She has been opposing it from the very beginning. She is not being able to decide as to which boat she would take – INDIA or NDA? That’s why she is creating confusion. This is being orchestrated by the BJP so that there is a negative feeling among the people about the INDIA alliance,” Md Salim, CPIM state secretary, told the media.
The TMC, however, has hit back saying that the BJP has pressed the panic button as the INDIA and TMC have become real headaches for them.
“Why is the BJP concerned about this? It is INDIA’s internal matter. It was not just the TMC which was absent today. A few other party leaders also skipped the meeting. It could be that they had used alternative channels to communicate,” Ghosh told media persons.
