CPM, Congress split over tie-up with Trinamool

Division has occurred in the CPM and the Congress over whether to join forces with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to counter BJP in West Bengal.

Even as the CPM state leadership had earlier rejected West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s proposal to coordinate on national issues, a section of party leaders has indicated that it is not averse to collaboration with the TMC to stop the saffron party’s advances in West Bengal.

Following the remark of CPM MLA Tanmoy Bhattacharya indicating that he is not totally against coordinating with the TMC to counter the BJP, senior CPM leader and former minister Gautam Deb also did not directly rule out such a possibility.

“I have nothing to say on the issue of coordinating with the TMC. The party’s decision will be final in this regard,” Deb said.

CPM sources revealed that a section of party leaders is not averse to collaborating with the TMC but it only wants it to be limited to the issue of stopping the BJP’s rise in Bengal.

“It must be kept in mind that these party leaders are not talking about an alliance with the TMC but issue based collaboration to counter the BJP,” CPM sources said.

The division over joining the TMC against the BJP is even more prominent in the grand old party.

While former state Congress vice president Omprakash Mishra publicly argued in favour of joining forces with the TMC in his resignation letter, the party’s leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and state president Somen Mitra have not given clear replies over the issue.

The state Congress leadership is also not sure what its stand will be in case the Left Front and the TMC join forces.

‘Nothing is impossible’

“Nothing is impossible in politics. The TMC had joined forces with the Congress to counter the Left Front in the past. The state Congress leadership can comment on the party’s stand in case the Left and the TMC come together. I can’t comment on it,” said Chowdhury.

Mitra only said that he can only comment on it if at all the Left and the TMC join forces. He also said that Mamata must first earn the Congress’ trust.

The BJP, on the other hand, refused to give much importance to the development.

“We will be happy if the Left and the TMC come together, and if that happens the Left will loose whatever little public support it has,” senior state BJP leader Samik Bhattacharya said.