Mamata Banerjee’s anti-Congress stance has failed to find favour with key players in the Opposition camp who believe the idea is not just impractical but will help the BJP.

“Sharad Pawar has made it clear that no alternative front can be made without the Congress,” NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said in Mumbai on Saturday.

“Keeping the Congress out is not possible. Leadership is not the issue at this stage. Pawar saheb feels we have to do it collectively. There are many parties which have to be brought together. He is willing to work to bring them along.”

Malik added: “In 2004, Manmohan Singh was not projected as the leader of the UPA. There was no mention of leadership of the UPA before the election.”

Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut echoed the sentiment.

“The leadership question has to be tackled later. And a third or fourth front has always helped the BJP. The UPA exists and needs to be strengthened. What is the Maha Vikas Aghadi (ruling coalition) in Maharashtra? It is a manifestation of the spirit of the UPA.”

Raut asserted that an anti-Congress stance wasn’t a wise political project at this time.

“We too have differences with the Congress but we understand that the Congress cannot be kept out. There are many states where the Congress alone fights the BJP,” he said.

“(Participation of) the Congress is inevitable for a credible front against the BJP. We respect Mamata Banerjee; we hail her struggle in Bengal. We will meet again and things will be sorted out amicably.”

Asked about the Congress attack on Mamata for her associations with the BJP in the past, Raut said: “We should forget these things now. Look at what happened in Maharashtra. We used to fight bitterly but we are now running a government together. Everybody should keep the Maharashtra experiment in mind.”

Raut was alluding to the Sena’s journey from staunch BJP ally to coalition partner of the Congress and the NCP in Maharashtra.

RJD spokesperson Manoj Jha told The Telegraph: “Our leader Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi Yadav believe that everybody should sit together and chalk out a common strategy. What we need is an alternative to the BJP, setting aside the temptation of projecting a face much like what was done in 2004.”

He added: “The neo-liberal politics of brand-making and brand-selling has already done substantial damage to Indian politics. We can’t leave aside the Congress as they fight the BJP one to one in over 200 Lok Sabha seats. This idea, which is exclusive in nature, is not going to fructify.”

Another key member of the anti-BJP front, the DMK, is firmly with the Congress.

Asked about the idea of keeping the Congress out, DMK leader Tiruchi Siva said: “These decisions are taken by the party leadership. I don’t want to make any comment.”

Another DMK leader, however, said on the condition of anonymity: “We can’t even entertain the idea of excluding the Congress. It has to be the fulcrum of anti-BJP politics in national politics even though regional parties are very important.”

The concerted effort to water down the perception that a new front without the Congress was in the making hasn’t come without behind-the-scenes mobilisation. Although none would confirm it, there’s speculation about several senior Congress leaders swinging into action to send a clear message to Trinamul.

A Congress functionary said: “We are upset with Mamata’s personal attack on Rahul Gandhi, followed by the consultant’s (Prashant Kishor) cheap jibe. We obviously discussed the development with our allies. The less said the better about the weird political idea of a non-Congress front to fight the BJP.”

Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana too published an editorial on Saturday underlining the impracticality of any anti-BJP front that leaves out the Congress.

“If there is no common minimum programme to define Opposition unity, evolving a credible alternative to the BJP is impossible. The parties must agree on one thing — whether they have to look after their own crumbling fortress and states under their control or unite to fight. Who will lead is a question for the future,” it said.

“Mamata fought in Bengal like a tigress. She demolished the BJP. The country hailed her struggle. She came to Mumbai for political interactions. Her politics is not favourable towards the Congress. She has wiped out the Congress and the Left in Bengal. But the truth is that doing politics at the national level by keeping the Congress out is like giving strength to the fascist forces.”

The editorial added: “It can be understood if Modi and the BJP want the Congress decimated. This is their agenda. But it is dangerous if those who are fighting Modi and his tendencies wish the Congress finished.

“The Congress’s decline is worrisome. No two opinions about it. But to conspire that the derailed train must not be back on track so that we can capture that space is destructive. Modi doesn’t need NDA today but the Opposition needs UPA.”

The editorial argued that any effort to form a non-Congress front would help the BJP.

“Those who don’t want the Congress to lead the coalition should unambiguously speak up. Don’t murmur behind the curtain. This deepens suspicion and disputes,” it said.

“Even Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi should open up about the future of the UPA…. Those who want Opposition unity should strengthen the UPA.”