<p>West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Monday met BJP patriarch L K Advani at his residence for the first time after Narendra Modi became prime minister in May.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The meeting gave rise to speculations on the motive behind Banerjee's rare move at a time when she is under tremendous attack from the BJP following the Saradha scam and the Burdwan blasts. She ostensibly went to see Advani’s ailing wife Kamala.<br /><br />BJP leader SidharthNath Singh, however, said, “It was just a courtesy call; no political angle in it.” <br /><br />Banerjee was a partner in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and had served as a Union minister, holding different portfolios, during former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s regime, but walked out of the alliance after the 2002 Gujarat riots. <br /><br />Banerjee’s attempt to endear herself to isolated Advani after a prolonged gap is not new. BJP leaders recalled that after the surprise defeat of the Vajpayee-led NDA in 2004, she had called up Advani, who was brought back to head the demolarised BJP, describing him as a “gentleman”, ignoring her party, which wanted to maintain its distance from the Hindutva party. <br /><br />Banerjee was in the national capital to attend a function organised by Congress to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of country’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. <br /><br />The Congress' invitation to parties ideologically opposed to the BJP, including the Trinamool, JD(U) and the Left, is being viewed as realignment of political forces to counter Brand Modi.<br /><br />Banerjee is said to be open to joining a secular front to confront the growing footprints of the BJP in the West Bengal. To convey that Bengal is important in his party’s scheme of things, Modi has inducted singer-turned-MP Babul Supriyo into his council of ministers.</p>
<p>West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Monday met BJP patriarch L K Advani at his residence for the first time after Narendra Modi became prime minister in May.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The meeting gave rise to speculations on the motive behind Banerjee's rare move at a time when she is under tremendous attack from the BJP following the Saradha scam and the Burdwan blasts. She ostensibly went to see Advani’s ailing wife Kamala.<br /><br />BJP leader SidharthNath Singh, however, said, “It was just a courtesy call; no political angle in it.” <br /><br />Banerjee was a partner in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and had served as a Union minister, holding different portfolios, during former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s regime, but walked out of the alliance after the 2002 Gujarat riots. <br /><br />Banerjee’s attempt to endear herself to isolated Advani after a prolonged gap is not new. BJP leaders recalled that after the surprise defeat of the Vajpayee-led NDA in 2004, she had called up Advani, who was brought back to head the demolarised BJP, describing him as a “gentleman”, ignoring her party, which wanted to maintain its distance from the Hindutva party. <br /><br />Banerjee was in the national capital to attend a function organised by Congress to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of country’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. <br /><br />The Congress' invitation to parties ideologically opposed to the BJP, including the Trinamool, JD(U) and the Left, is being viewed as realignment of political forces to counter Brand Modi.<br /><br />Banerjee is said to be open to joining a secular front to confront the growing footprints of the BJP in the West Bengal. To convey that Bengal is important in his party’s scheme of things, Modi has inducted singer-turned-MP Babul Supriyo into his council of ministers.</p>
