reported by, Pallavi Ghosh
Last Update: March 15, 2023, 2:29 pm IST
(From left) Mamata Banerjee with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. (ANI file)
Despite the son’s leftist leanings and Banerjee publicly doubting Rahul Gandhi’s ability to lead the opposition front, he has maintained a good equation with Sonia Gandhi and a section of the Congress.
Sonia Gandhi has many prized sarees as gifts, one of which is from Mamta Banerjee. It is a Dhankali, which she gifted to Gandhi, with whom she shared a deep bond till late. Like the relationship between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Congress, the saree is also gathering dust.
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The close relationship between Gandhi and Banerjee dates back to the time when the Chief Minister of West Bengal was in the Congress and acknowledges the role played by Rajiv Gandhi in her political career till date. It was Rajiv Gandhi who made Banerjee the Lok Sabha candidate from Jadavpur in 1984. In 1991, when he was hurt allegedly by Left activists, it was Rajiv Gandhi who sponsored his treatment.
She has never forgotten this and despite her son being a Leftist and Banerjee publicly doubting Rahul Gandhi’s ability to lead the opposition front, Banerjee maintains a good equation with Sonia Gandhi and a section of the Congress .
But now the tension is starting to show.
yechury factor
There are two reasons for this. One, Rahul Gandhi’s clearly leftist leanings. He is quite open about the fact that he considers Sitaram Yechury as his mentor. And whoever loves Left hates TMC and Banerjee. In the last Bengal state elections, Banerjee was furious when the Congress decided to forge an alliance with the Left to fight her. He held the Congress responsible for helping the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) make inroads in his state.
attachment to chaudhary
His second reason is Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary. Chowdhary is a well-known Mamta-batter. he was the first to advise Rahul Gandhi To forge an alliance with the Left for the Bengal elections. He is an MP from Murshidabad and his victory can be at the cost of TMC. That’s why they have animosity towards Banerjee.
He has said from day one that he is soft on the BJP and cannot be trusted. It was he who agreed with Rahul Gandhi when during the Meghalaya elections Rahul accused TMC of doing scams and making money to help BJP win.
The second half of the budget session has been marked by TMC’s absence from opposition meetings. In fact, while the opposition was meeting, the TMC was protesting on another issue for two days outside.
In fact, Kalyan Banerjee openly accused the Congress of colluding with the BJP and said that the TMC cannot come to terms with the Congress as long as Chowdhary is the state chief.
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It may cost the opposition unity for 2024, as Banerjee was one of its chief architects in 2019.
All options are open in politics. But it is said that when friends become enemies, the bitterness remains for a long time.
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