Mamata leads efforts to cobble a united opposition

NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s efforts to create a “federal front” of regional parties in the Opposition camp got some boost as she spoke with DMK leader M K Stalin, Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackaray, apart from TRS chief and Telengana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. Her aparty Trinamool Congress is coordinating with TDP, TRS, BSP and SP and others over the last couple of days.
This move to create a separate front against the ruling BJP seems parallel to Congress efforts to carve out its own path under its new leader Rahul Gandhi. However, Monday saw Congress leader Sonia Gandhi coordinating with TMC leader Kalyan Banerjee in Lok Sabha exchanging notes to coordinate on hitting out at the government on the Nirav Modi issue.

Just as it did during the demonetization move, TMC has taken the lead in the Opposition’s charge against the Narendra Modi government on the Nirav Modi issue on Monday, given that Congress is handicapped by counter charges from BJP on the recent Karti Chidambaram issue. TMC MPs sat on a dharna and led the sloganeering on the issue in Parliament on Monday morning as the house opened after the recess for the Budget Session.

After BJP’s success in routing the Left in Tripura, Banerjee revived her attempt at initiating a front of “federal parties” to combat BJP, since Congress rejected her proposal to tie up in Tripura. Even during the Gujarat elections, Banerjee had suggested that even while it was a straight fight between Congress and BJP in the western state, all the opposition parties should be invited to campaign jointly for Congress as a show of solidarity against BJP, but it was not heeded to and had upset the TMC chief who was the first mover on the Opposition unity platform after the demonetization and during the Presidential elections.

Hence the effort to build a parallel line of offence against BJP in a year that leads up to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

In a follow up to her conversations with KCR and TDP leadership, Banerjee has instructed her party leaders in Parliament to coordinate with TDP and TRS MPs in Parliament. TDP MPs have already shared all the papers related to the Andhra Pradesh reorganization package with the TMC parliamentary party.

On Sunday night Banerjee had a 12 minute conversation with Stalin and it was decided that the two parties will move in coordination against BJP in the respective states as well as in Parliament, according to TMC sources.

Asked about Banerjee’s outreach to other party leaders, TMC MP Derek O’Brien said, “Mamata Banerjee initiated the idea of federal parties coming together to defeat BJP. With this in view, many leaders of stature are calling her and she is calling them. We (TMC) are on track.”