West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday met Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai.
Among others, the two veteran leaders spoke on the need for a collective leadership at the national level.
Banerjee, who is on three-day visit to Mumbai, also met Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut and Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray's son Aditya.
“Today, my colleagues and I had a long chat with her (Mamata Banerjee). Her intention is that in today's situation like-minded forces have to come together at national level and set up collective leadership,” Sharad Pawar was quoted as saying after his meeting with Mamata Banerjee.
Meanwhile, Banerjee said that there is no United Progress Alliance (UPA) left. However, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said that they want to work together to take everyone along who wanted to be part of it and ready to work hard.
“What UPA, where is UPA? Now there is no UPA left. We will make one (alternative front),” Banerjee said.
On being asked whether the Congress would be part of the “alliance”, Pawar said any party that is against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are welcome if they come together.
{{/usCountry}}On being asked whether the Congress would be part of the “alliance”, Pawar said any party that is against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are welcome if they come together.
{{/usCountry}}“We have to provide a strong alternative to leadership. Our thinking is not for today, but for the election. This has to be established and with that intention, she has visited and had a very positive discussion with all of us,” Pawar said.
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Her meeting with Thackeray and Pawar, two of the three coalition partners in the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra, comes amid her party’s widening rift with the Congress, which is an ally of MVA.
The meeting also holds significance as the Trinamool Congress is trying to expand its national footprint with Banerjee spearheading efforts to unite opposition parties against the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the country.
Several leaders joined the Trinamool Congress recently with the defection of 12 Congress MLAs in Meghalaya, including the state’s former chief minister Mukul Sangma, being the latest.