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Mamata’s call to unite against BJP sparks speculation in Congress of reviving alliance with TMC

Mamata has invited Sonia Gandhi at a TMC mega rally in Kolkata later this year if the Covid-19 pandemic is under control in the state
Last Updated 24 July 2021, 03:15 IST

Trinamool Congress (TMC) Mamata Banerjee’s call to Opposition parties, especially the Congress to form an anti-BJP platform, has sparked speculation that the grand old party may revive its alliance with the TMC in West Bengal.

The presence of senior Congress leaders such as P Chidambaram and Digvijaya Singh at the Chief Minister’s virtual rally on July 21 further strengthened the possibility of the two former alliance partners coming close to each other once again. Mamata has also invited Sonia Gandhi at a TMC mega rally in Kolkata later this year if the Covid-19 pandemic is under control in the state.

Indicating that the state unit will not oppose joining forces with the TMC in Bengal if the Congress High Command wanted it, state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that the state unit was a part of Congress and had to go by the instructions of the High Command.

“There is no separate entity as the Bengal Congress. We are the state unit of the Congress. If the national leadership instructs us to join forces with the TMC, we have to do it,” said Chowdhury. He also pointed out that the TMC came to power in Bengal for the first time in the 2011 Assembly election when Congress was its alliance partner.

As to whether it will bring an end to the Congress’ ties with its current alliance partner in Bengal, the CPI(M) led Left Front Chowdhury said that Mamata had urged all the Opposition parties including the CPI(M).

“We joined forces with the TMC before under the instruction of the High Command. Then we had to join forces with the Left Front as TMC’s coercion became unbearable, that too under the High Command’s instruction,” said Chowdhury.

However, state Congress sources pointed out that in the 2006 Assembly elections, two independent candidates backed by Chowdhury were fielded in his home district of Murshidabad and they emerged victorious over official Congress candidates.

TMC’s increasing closeness with the Congress has also prompted its current alliance partner the Left Front to look for alternatives, sources in the Left Front said.

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(Published 23 July 2021, 15:17 IST)

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