Kolkata: West Bengal Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday ruled out the possibility of joining hands with the ruling Trinamool Congress in 2019 Lok Sabha Elections.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had on Friday urged the Opposition to stand shoulder-to-shoulder to oust the BJP. Mamata had said that Bengal stood with Sonia Ji and other Opposition leaders - Nitish Kumar, Omar Abdullah, Navin Pattanaik - to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She roared to launch ‘BJP Bharat Chhoro’ Abhiyan from August 9 to August 30.
Speaking to News18, Adhir said, “She is now hounded by the BJP in Bengal. Mamata is now scared of BJP, and therefore, she wanted us to rescue her. When Congress was in power, she called for a Congress Mukt Bharat and now she is calling for a BJP Mukt Bharat. She only knows what her intention is.”
A vocal critic of Mamata, Adhir, added: “I don’t know about other leaders, but as far as Sonia Ji is concerned, she will never ask us to ally with TMC in Bengal. I repeat she will never ask us. There are no ifs and buts. My fight with Trinamool Congress will continue in Bengal.”
“Mamata’s party leaders are beating Congress activists in Bengal, and after that, how can anyone think of going for an alliance with TMC. This is an impossible call by Mamata,” he added.
While addressing a huge rally at Esplanade on Martyr’s Day, Mamata said, “We are ready to support any party who is against the BJP. We are with Nitishji (Bihar CM Nitish Kumar), we are with Arvind (Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal), Laluji (RJD Chief Lalu Prasad), Navinji (Odisha Navin Patnaik). There will be a grand alliance before the Lok Sabha polls (in 2019). We will oust BJP from power.”
Mamata's relationship with the ruling dispensation at the Centre has always been a strained one. In 1998, breaking away from Congress party, Mamata floated her own party, Trinamool Congress, and joined hands with BJP for Lok Sabha elections. In 2001, for Assembly elections in West Bengal, Mamata forged an alliance with Congress which came a cropper.
In 2004, however, Mamata once again changed horse in the midstream, joining hands with BJP for the 2004 parliamentary elections in which TMC performed abysmally, winning just one seat.
In 2012, she had a political standoff with Congress, and she asked Dinesh Trivedi to resign as the Railway Minister.
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