“The TMC leader has no principles in her life and always practices politics of opportunity. Her parent party, the Congress, also follows the same policy. That is why it has now warmed up to her and wants to join hands with her party,” Mr Basu told newspersons here after the party’s state secretariat meeting.

“She had ditched the Congress to join the NDA; and now, she has a different gameplan. None can be sure what she is up to,” he added. “It is surprising that people still vote for her. We’ve to go to those people and win them over.”

At a gathering of Madrasa students on Thursday, Ms Banerjee announced her decision to walk out of the NDA and declined to cite any reason. She claimed Trinamool would have to build “an independent identity and stand on its own” in Bengal.

That she had been inching towards the Congress to re-position her party in the state was  evident when she opted for an alliance with the parent party in the civic board elections in Midnapore district, a couple of months ago.

Even as the state BJP criticised her move, she decided to distance herself from the saffron brigade after possibilities of general elections turned bright in view of the deteriorating relations between the Congress and the CPM over the Indo-US nuclear deal.