Mamata meets Sonia on one-is-to-one fight against BJP; wants Congress to win Karnataka, Akhilesh-Mayawati Uttar Pradesh

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday met UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and sought her help in pitting a "one-is-to-one" fight to eliminate the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP.

Mamata is understood to have pitched the "one-is-to-one" strategy to Sonia which entails supporting the stronger party in a state to take on the BJP.

"I want that Congress wins in Karnataka, because it is strong there. In Uttar Pradesh, we want that Akhilesh-Mayawati win and Laluji in Bihar... If there is one-is-to-one, then the BJP will go," the Trinamool Congress supremo said.

Mamata, who is seeking to build a coalition of regional parties against the BJP, also held meetings with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and a ginger group within the BJP comprising former union ministers Yashwant Sinha, Shatrughan Sinha and Arun Shourie.

"We want the Congress to help the regional parties' front that is being talked about, so as to facilitate a one-is-to-one fight. This fight will eliminate the BJP politically," Mamata said after the meeting Sonia.

Shourie, who was a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, welcomed Mamata's proposal and said the Opposition parties could end up garnering 69% of the total votes if they stuck together.

On Tuesday, Mamata had met NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Ramgopal Yadav (SP), Y S Chowdhary (TDP), Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena), K Kavita (TRS), Kanimozhi (DMK), Misa Bharti (RJD) and Bhratruhari Mahtab (BJD) in her bid to build an anti-Modi coalition.

BJP hits back

The BJP hit out at Mamata saying while West Bengal was "burning", the chief ministers was "doing politics" in the national capital. The party was referring to incidents of violence during Ram Navami processions in West Bengal.

Senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar told reporters that Trinamool "thugs" were attacking peaceful Ram Navami processions in the state.

LJP President and Union Minister Ramvilas Paswan dubbed Mamata's attempts to cobble up a 'federal front' "impractical".

"You ask leaders of the regional parties she has spoken to," Paswan said when asked about a Trinamool leader pitching Mamata as the next prime minister.