Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday afternoon tweeted “salutations” to the people of Karnataka for their mandate of “change” and later in the day congratulated “winners” while talking to reporters, but chose not to mention the Congress both times.
The Trinamul supremo’s omissions have again sparked fresh conjecture about her frosty ties with the Congress.
“My salutations to the people of Karnataka for their decisive mandate in favour of change!! Brute authoritarian and majoritarian politics is vanquished!! When people want plurality and democratic forces to win, no central design to dominate can repress their spontaneity: that is the moral of the story, lesson for tomorrow,” Mamata tweeted.
It sparked speculation on her reasons for not mentioning Congress leader Rahul Gandhi or Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, both of whom along with Karnataka party leaders Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar are being credited for convincingly defeating the BJP.
Later, when Mamata spoke to the media at her Kalighat residence — after seeing off Salman Khan — she was specifically asked if she wanted to credit Rahul for the victory. She dodged the question.
“I salute the people of Karnataka. I also salute the winners for their victory... Kumarswamy ji (H.D. Kumaraswamy of the JDS) also did well,” Mamata told reporters.
“I think people voted against their (the BJP’s) arrogance, pride, unbearable attitude and agency politics... That’s why people believed in ‘no vote to BJP’.... (This year) Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh elections are coming, I think the BJP will lose in both.... Now is the beginning of the end...,” added Mamata.
Mamata explained why the BJP would face a rout in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, naming southern and eastern states, and Delhi, Punjab and Maharashtra where the saffron camp was unlikely to fare well.
“They will get seats in Gujarat and UP. Yogi (Adityanath)-raj is there. But this time Akhilesh (Yadav) will do better... Some seats in Haryana also. But I think they cannot even cross the 100-seat mark, “ Mamata said, before again putting forth her formula of 1:1 or pitting the strongest Opposition candidate in each seat against the BJP nominee to oust the BJP.
Trinamul national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, asked about the impact of Rahul’s Bharat Jodo Yatra on Karnataka’s victory, said it was difficult to say if it played any role and added that Bengal showed the way to defeat the BJP.
Though most Trinamul leaders expressed joy over the Karnataka outcome, most chose not to offer any comment on record, which, a source said stemmed from the confusion on whether the high command would let them speak well about the Congress.
“The BJP’s loss is good news... But I am not sure if I should comment on the Congress victory. That’s why I am not saying anything,” a senior Trinamul leader toldThe Telegraph.
However, most Trinamul leaders said they expected Mamata to play a key role in ensuring a united fight against the BJP in 2024.
On Saturday, Trinamul’s official Twitter handle was also full of messages on May 13, the day the 2011 Assembly poll results came out announcing Bengal’s historic change of guard.
Mamata Banerjee greets Salman Khan with a shawl at her Kalighat residence in Calcutta on Saturday afternoon. The Bollywood superstar called on the Bengal chief minister ahead of football club East Bengal’s concert. The Telegraph
