The Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Congress, two bitter political rivals in West Bengal, are drawing closer, and ironically, it is the Pegasus snooping scandal that is doing the trick.
Both the parties have their leaders in the list of possible Pegasus targets – Abhishek Banerjee from TMC and Rahul Gandhi from Congress.
The first sign of the two political opponents coming together was the presence of Congress veterans P. Chidambaram and Digvijay Singh, who were invited by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the virtual Martyrs’ Day event on July 21. Symbol of Martyr’s Day. Firing on Congress protesters in Kolkata by the then ruling Left Front government.
Sources say Banerjee extended the invitation to senior Congress leaders as she believes that no front will be able to take on the BJP’s juggernaut in the 2024 general elections, if it is devoid of Congress, in the recent state elections. Despite the party’s dismal electoral record.
Sources said Banerjee is of the view that the Congress still enjoys dedicated support in many parts of the country. Sources also said that it was part of a brief briefing given to election strategist Prashant Kishor, when he had gone to meet the Gandhi family in Delhi, that the party needed to pull up its socks.
Backdoor support in Parliament
Relations between the Congress and TMC had soured after they decided to forge an alliance with the Trinamool’s bitterest rival – the Left – in Bengal in 2017, and that was reiterated in the 2021 state elections as well.
Moreover, the appointment of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury as the state Congress chief had made matters worse. Chowdhury is extremely vocal in his attacks against Banerjee in relation to the Saradha and Narada scams, thus adding to Banerjee’s anger.
Sonia wanted to replace Chaudhary, but now this plan has gone into cold storage. However, sources said back-channel communication has now been done between the Trinamool Congress and the Congress. For example, the TMC has decided that whenever they raise the Pegasus controversy in Parliament, they will also mention how Rahul Gandhi was also a target of Pegasus.
Sources also said that the people being roped in from the Congress to initiate talks include Chidambaram, Abhishek Singhvi, among others.
“We are not even bothered that TMC has accepted (former President Pranab Mukherjee’s son) Abhijit Mukherjee as we would have been in other situations. This is a sign that we will allow TMC to get away with certain things on certain issues.
Another clear sign of TMC’s rapprochement with the Congress is Banerjee’s possible meeting with Sonia Gandhi during her visit to Delhi next week. Banerjee has always had a good relationship with Sonia Gandhi, though she has been critical of Rahul Gandhi in the past.
Banerjee is determined to oust PM Modi’s BJP from power in 2024, but also knows that it may not be easy, and hence, she plans to bring warring regional parties together to halt the BJP’s chariot in 2024. are trying. Sources close to the Bengal Chief Minister also said that the biggest fight for Banerjee is the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, for which she is ready to give up her anger and bitterness for the Congress for the time being.
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