Samajwadi Party, Trinamool to fight BJP without Congress in Lok Sabha polls

Two leading political parties – Samajwadi Party, and Trinamool Congress – hinted at a possible non-Congress conglomerate of regional parties for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, but refrained from declaring that a ‘third-front’ was in-making.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who is in Kolkata for his party’s national executive meeting, met Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee at her residence.

Interacting with press reporters, after addressing around 300 party workers and leaders in a city auditorium before meeting Banerjee, Yadav said that his party is with ‘didi’, and has always, and earlier as well, been with her. The party’s stand, as of now, is same as that of Trinamool – to stay equidistant from the ‘two’ (BJP, Congress). He expressed hope that some kind of ‘front’ or ‘alliance’ will be visible before the elections.

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Shyamdhar Pandey, a state general secretary of the party, however, said that party supporters are eager to contest in Bengal in sync with the Trinamool, but will abide by the final decision of the party chief.

Would the fight be a triangular one, on being asked, Yadav said how is it possible to say so. “What is the Congress Party’s situation in Uttar Pradesh, at present?... We are hopeful that together we will find a way out. In UP we will fight with parties that are in coalition with us. If you see Pradesh, those (candidates) will register maximum victories, who are neither with Congress, nor with the BJP,” he said.

On being asked about the ‘PM-face’, he said that it’s not important who’s going to lead. “PM’s is a big post. This could be discussed. We are with didi…. In UP the BJP says 80 out of 80. We are saying we will defeat them in 80 out of 80,” he said.

After the Trinamool held a meeting of its senior leaders, Trinamool’s leader of parliamentary party in Lok Sabha Sudip Bandyopadhyay, and senior minister in the state government Chandrima Bhattacharya, jointly addressed the media.

Bandyopadhyay said that Trinamool will talk to other regional parties. The Trinamool chief is scheduled to visit Odisha next week, and will be meeting Naveen Patnaik, the Biju Janata Dal chief. Banerjee is also expected to visit New Delhi, where interaction may occur with leaders of other regional parties. “We are not talking of any third front, forming. But the regional parties that have the ability to take on the BJP, our party leader (Banerjee) will start interacting with them,” he said.

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Referring to the Congress-led meetings of the Opposition parties, Bandyopadhyay said that he was there in the first meeting. “Congress should not feel they are the big boss of this Opposition,” he said, adding that Trinamool has been raising its voice on several issues against the BJP. Like Yadav, he too said that let there be elections first, the ‘face’ (of any emerging post-poll coalition) is not a factor. Fifteen of the NDA’s 18 partners have left the BJP, and the Trinamool will attempt at bringing these on board for a collective fight.

Coming hard on Congress, Bandyopadhyay added: “They are trying to become the big boss of Opposition parties which they are not. The Congress should give regional parties their due honour which they are not giving.” He alleged that in Bengal, the parties in Opposition – the CPI(M), the BJP, and the Congress, are speaking in the same voice, and in such a situation can there be a possibility of adjustment.