Sunday, 22 December 2024
Sunday, 22 December 2024
The Trinamul Congress (TMC) and its chief Mamata Banerjee have once again captured national attention, with its leaders and the chief minister suggesting an ambition for greater influence within the INDIA bloc despite the party giving the Modi-Adani link protests by the Opposition in the Parliament a miss.
“I had formed the INDIA bloc, now it is up to those leading the front to manage it. If they can’t run the show, what can I do? I would just say that everyone needs to be taken along,” Banerjee said in an interview with Bengali news channel on Friday. “If given the opportunity I would ensure its smooth functioning. I don’t want to go outside West Bengal, but I can run it from here.”
On Sunday, TMC MP Kirti Azad said Banerjee is the ‘most suitable’ leader for the alliance. “It is time to make Mamata Banerjee the leader of INDIA bloc. With her experience she is the most suitable for this job,” Azad said.
Amidst these assertions, TMC’s actions have raised eyebrows. The party skipped the Opposition protest in Parliament on Monday over the Gautam Adani bribery allegations, a key issue spearheaded by the Congress and its allies this winter session.
This strategy—leadership aspirations and visible dissonance—paints a complex picture of the TMC’s role within the Opposition coalition.
But how did the other key leaders of the INDIA bloc react to the development?
NCP chief Sharad Pawar lent his support, calling her a “capable leader.” Pawar said, “She is a capable leader in the country and has the right to say it. The MPs she has sent to the Parliament are hardworking and aware.”
RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav suggested a collective decision-making process for selecting a leader.
“We have no issue with Mamata Banerjee leading the bloc, but keeping in mind there are so many senior politicians in the anti-BJP coalition, there’s a need to sit together and take a collective decision on choosing a leader,” Yadav said. “We have not yet collectively taken a call on the issue of future leadership. But when any decision is taken about who will be the leader and the future roadmap, it will be through consensus.”
This development added fuel to the murmurs of dissatisfaction with the bloc’s functioning, following the Congress’s dismal performance in recent elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.
After the defeat in the Maharashtra Assembly polls, the Samajwadi Party (SP) quit the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the state avatar of the opposition alliance, after a Shiv Sena (UBT) leader hailed the Babri mosque’s demolition. The SP, along with the TMC and the Aam Aadmi Party has not participated with other INDIA bloc partners in the Adani issue protests.
But SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav said on Monday that “all is well” in the opposition bloc. “It has become a habit of BJP to make false allegations. None of their allegations have turned out to be true till date.”
The BJP has latched onto the confusion and claimed the INDIA alliance would disintegrate soon.
“This is a power struggle between people who do not match with each other. The alliance and Congress have completely succumbed under the weight of Rahul Gandhi. Congress and Rahul Gandhi are nothing more than a liability. The sole purpose of the INDIA bloc is to ensure political placement and protect a corrupt clan.” BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh said on Saturday.
The INDIA bloc, conceptualised to present a united front against the BJP, now finds itself grappling with internal conflicts. Mamata Banerjee’s assertive stance has brought the leadership debate to the fore, threatening to overshadow the alliance’s electoral agenda.
