opinion | Can Mamata Banerjee unite the opposition?
Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced in Mumbai on Wednesday that she has started efforts to provide a new and stronger alternative to the nation. He clarified that the Congress party was unable to take on the BJP at the national level, and regional parties would have to provide a strong national alternative. “Only regional parties can defeat the BJP,” he said.
Mamata Banerjee also hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, without naming him, saying “you can’t stay abroad most of the time and challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi”. After meeting Shiv Sena leaders and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar in Mumbai, Mamta Banerjee gave some indications about the political future of the country. Most important was his direct attack on Rahul Gandhi.
When a journalist asked if Sharad Pawar would lead the UPA, Mamata Banerjee, standing beside Pawar, replied, “What UPA? Now there is no UPA. We will decide on this together. We have to make a comprehensive strategy to take on the BJP. We need a united opposition. My meeting with Sharad ji was to prepare an action plan to defeat the BJP…I know him. I’ve worked with him.”
The second important indicator was that Sharad Pawar supported Mamata Banerjee’s views. Pawar agreed that a national alternative was needed. After reading the comments of Mamta and Pawar, many political questions arise.
The biggest question is, will Mamata Banerjee lead the anti-Modi front? Will she seize the stake for PM’s chair from Rahul Gandhi?
The fact that Mamata met Shiv Sena and NCP leaders in Mumbai, but avoided meeting Congress leaders of the ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’ alliance that governs Maharashtra, speaks volumes about the direction she is taking. . Even at the national level, the Trinamool Congress is keeping itself away from the Congress. Citing an example, while opposition parties joined the Congress in protesting the suspension of 12 Rajya Sabha MPs, Trinamool members staged their protest separately.
This raises the question whether Mamata Banerjee is going to project TMC as a national alternative? Is she trying to project herself as an alternative to Prime Minister Narendra Modi? The comments made by both Mamata Banerjee and Sharad Pawar after the face-to-face meeting in Mumbai should be read carefully, and between the lines.
Mamta’s strategy is clear: While the Congress is talking about an alliance of non-BJP parties against Modi, Mamta is talking about an alliance of non-Congress parties against the BJP. In such a situation, the question will arise that who will lead the non-Congress alliance i.e. Third Front? And when Mamta will stand with Pawar and speak against the Congress, then questions will arise about the alliance in Maharashtra too, where the Congress is an ally.
When asked whether the alternative would oust the Congress, Mamata Banerjee said: “What Sharadji said is that there should be a strong alternative to those fighting. What do we do if no one is fighting? We think everyone should fight on the field.”
Pawar, whose party is an alliance partner of the Shiv Sena and Congress in the Maharashtra government, realized the significance of the remarks. Before Mamata could finish her sentence, Pawar said: “Our thinking is not for today, but for the 2024 elections and this stage has to be set for that. With that intention, she came, and we had a very positive discussion… there is no question of excluding anyone. Those who are against BJP are welcome to join us. It is a matter of taking everyone along…Leadership is not an important issue for us. It is important for us to provide a strong and reliable platform to the people. Who will lead it is a secondary matter.”
Pawar may have refrained from naming the Congress, but Mamata has already taken the name of the Congress in a conversation with members of the “civil society” at a gathering at the Yashwantrao Chavan Centre. Taking a jibe at Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee said, “You cannot stay abroad most of the time. Continuing effort is necessary in politics. If you are going abroad to have fun, how will people trust you? You cannot fight a battle sitting abroad. You have to fight on the streets. Those who spend half their time abroad, they cannot fight Modi or defeat Modi… Only leaders who know the ground reality can fight with BJP… We have done this in West Bengal.. .I had suggested to the Congress that it should be so. An advisory council of prominent civil society figures to give direction to the opposition, but in vain. ,
Mamata Banerjee also said, her party will not contest elections in states where regional parties are strong. “It is very easy to defeat the BJP if all the regional parties are together,” he said. The regional parties will form the national parties. They alone can defeat BJP..I don’t want division of votes, but no party is bigger than the country.’
Most of the civil society members who attended the gathering included those who campaigned prominently on TV and social media against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party. These include Javed Akhtar, Medha Patkar, Swara Bhaskar, Shobha De, Mahesh Bhatt, Munavvar Farooqui and others. Most of them urged Mamata Banerjee to take over the leadership of the opposition.
In response, the West Bengal CM said, she was a “little worker” and would like to continue as one. “The choice of PM will be decided by the changing situation and by the states… Now the important issue is to politically eradicate BJP from the country and save democracy.” Targeting the Center, he alleged that laws like UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) are being misused in the country. “UAPA stands for internal security and protection from external forces. It is being misused like anything. Income Tax Department, CBI, ED are also being misused.
Mamata Banerjee understands that a large number of opposition supporters are waiting for a leader who can give a direct challenge to Modi. These supporters had pinned their hopes on Rahul Gandhi in the 2014 and 2019 elections, but the Congress led by Rahul suffered continuous electoral defeats. Soon after, the search began for a strong leader in the opposition arena and Mamata Banerjee is trying her best to fill that gap. This is the reason why she is directly attacking Modi these days. He told the gathering of “civil society” members that “Modi is not invincible. Modi is also scared.
Congress leaders like Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and KC Venugopal, who are considered part of Rahul Gandhi’s core group of advisors, reacted strongly to Mamata Banerjee’s remark of “there is no UPA”. Venugopal said, ‘Everyone knows the reality of Indian politics. To think that one can defeat BJP without Congress is just a dream.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, ‘Does Mamata Banerjee not know what UPA is? I think he has started the madness. She thinks that the whole of India has started chanting ‘Mamata, Mamta’. But India does not mean Bengal and Bengal alone does not mean India. His strategy is slowly getting exposed in the last elections (in Bengal). The communal game he played with the BJP in Bengal is now clear. ,
In the end, I think, be it Mamata or Sharad Pawar, both know very well that they alone cannot defeat Modi at this juncture. All opposition parties have to come together.
Secondly, both of them know that Rahul Gandhi cannot give a tough fight to Modi and neither can Congress become the only alternative to BJP. But Congress believes that without it there can be no strong alternative. The opposition cannot be strong except the Congress. Rahul Gandhi believes that he is the only leader who can challenge the BJP forcefully. He said other leaders are afraid of Narendra Modi. But Mamata Banerjee is a politician who understands the ground reality better. He defeated BJP in the last assembly elections. He also has a long record of political struggle during the Left rule in Bengal.
Mamta now feels that a strong alternative cannot be made by taking the Congress along. So he has decided to lead the alternative himself. Mamata is of the view that there can be a powerful national alternative if TMC in Bengal, RJD in Bihar, Samajwadi Party in UP, NCP-Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, DMK in Tamil Nadu and other strong regional parties combine in their respective states. . Can challenge BJP. That’s why Mamata Banerjee said, “There is no UPA now” and Rahul is not serious about politics.
Well, it was Sharad Pawar who made the same remark about Rahul Gandhi years ago, when his party was not in alliance with the Congress in Maharashtra. Now that the SS-NCP-Congress coalition government has been formed, Pawar remained silent on this statement of Mamta. He only supported Mamata, but did not take a dig at Congress. Mamata’s approach may be right, but bringing all regional opposition parties on one platform is a difficult task.
All regional leaders have their own aspirations and needs. Bringing them into an alliance is a difficult task. But, looking at the current political situation, this work can be done by none other than Mamata. Till now BJP was saying ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’, but Mamata is now saying ‘Congress-mukt opposition’. Whatever he did in Mumbai can be taken as a beginning.
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