Congress, TMC lock horns in Twitter war

The relationship between the Congress and the TMC Friday touched a new low with Mamata Banerjee's party taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi's defeat in Amethi in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, wondering whether the Congress can erase the loss through a Twitter trend.

The Twitter war between the two parties wanting to lead an opposition front against the BJP started Friday morning after poll strategist Prashant Kishor, in a message for the Congress, said those looking for a quick revival of the grand old party-led coalition following the Lakhimpur Kheri incident are in for a big disappointment.

"People looking for a quick, spontaneous revival of GOP led opposition based on the Lakhimpur Kheri incident are setting themselves up for a big disappointment," Kishor said on his Twitter handle. "Unfortunately there are no quick-fix solutions to the deep-rooted problems and structural weakness of GOP," he said.

Kishor had worked for the TMC in the March-April assembly polls and shares a very good relationship with the party's top brass.

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Senior Congress leader and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel was quick to hit back, saying to become a national alternative deep-rooted and concerted efforts are needed. "People looking for a “national” alternative based on poaching INC functionaries who can’t win even their seats is in for a big disappointment. Unfortunately, to become a national alternative deep-rooted and concerted efforts are needed and there are no quick-fix solutions," he tweeted.

Baghel was apparently referring to the recent induction of former Congress MP and its women's wing chief Susmita Dev and former Goa Chief Minister Luizinho Faleiro into the TMC.

The Trinamool Congress, which has been criticising the Congress over its alleged failure to put up a fight against the BJP, called Baghel's remarks a "shoddy attempt to please the high command".

Also Read | Congress failed to fight BJP, onus now on TMC: Mamata

"Rich words coming from a first-time CM. Punching above your weight doesn’t bring honour to you, [e-mail] a shoddy attempt to please the high command! By the way, is @INCIndiagoing to try to erase the historical defeat at Amethi through yet another Twitter Trend?" the TMC shot back on the microblogging website.

West Bengal's ruling party was ostensibly alluding to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's defeat in Amethi in the Lok Sabha polls. The ties between the Congress and the TMC got strained recently after the latter's mouthpiece, 'Jago Bangla' asserted party supremo Mamata Banerjee and not Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has emerged as the face of the opposition against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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