TMC alliance plan for 2016, Congress, West Bengal assembly election, Mamata Banerjee , Trinamul Congress , Congress , West Bengal assembly election 2016, West Bengal polls
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- Category: West Bengal Latest Election News and Updates
- Last Updated: Wednesday, 16 December 2015 12:47
TMC alliance plan for 2016, Congress, West Bengal assembly election, Mamata Banerjee , Trinamul Congress , Congress , West Bengal assembly election 2016, West Bengal polls
Mamata Banerjee is not quite as whimsical as she appears. There’s a shrewd political brain ticking away inside her head. So, if she has unexpectedly warmed up to the Congress during the ongoing winter session of Parliament, be sure there’s a very good reason for it.
It seems a pre-poll alliance is cooking between the Trinamul Congress and the Congress for next year’s West Bengal assembly election. This was the main item on the menu when Mamata Banerjee called on Sonia Gandhi to wish her a happy birthday during her visit to the Capital last week.
According to the political grapevine, the prospect of a pre-poll pact between the two former allies was actually discussed in Patna last month when Rahul Gandhi and Mamata met at Nitish Kumar’s oath-taking ceremony. Not many know that they met one-on-one away from public gaze after the ceremony. What seems to have caught Mamata’s fancy was Rahul’s amazing offer. He is believed to have said that the Congress would be happy to contest just the seats it holds in the present assembly.
Mamata was taken aback by the humble position adopted by Rahul. The Congress is not known for its humility and in past negotiations with regional parties, it has always bargained hard. Mamata’s surprise was evident in her response to Rahul. She asked whether this proposal had his mother’s approval.
He assured her that it had. Later, when they met again on the tarmac of the airport before they flew back to their respective cities, Rahul passed on another message to Mamata. This was to invite her for a cup of tea at 10 Janpath when she was in Delhi next.
Trinamul sources say that Mamata would not mind a pre-poll alliance with the Congress, particularly on Rahul’s humble terms, as this would ensure that both her bugbears, the Left and the BJP, will be decimated.