The one appointment that could make the Delhi trip of Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee a success is yet to be firmed up, and although her inner circle has been told that UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has invited her for tea, there is no confirmation on the meeting from the Congress as yet.
Mamata is expected to be in Delhi till Friday. On Tuesday, she will be at the Central Hall of Parliament meeting MPs from other states, mostly from the Opposition and a few from the treasury benches with whom she had worked during her stints with the National Democratic Alliance.
“On Wednesday, Didi has called a meeting of all MPs from both Houses,” said a Trinamul source.
A meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been scheduled for Thursday. While Mamata maintains that it is a courtesy call, Trinamul sources said the chief minister would convey the urgency to hold the by-election for the Bhowanipore seat. In the Assembly elections, Mamata had switched over to Nandigram from where she lost to BJP nominee and now leader of Opposition in the Bengal Assemgly Suvendu Adhikary. Mamata, though, has been chosen as the leader of the House, but she is not a member of the legislative Assembly at present.
The last time when Mamata came face-to-face with Modi was soon after the cyclone Yaas. The casualty of that meeting was then chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay.
“The by-election has to be held before November or else there will be a constitutional crisis. While Rajya Sabha elections have been announced, the EC is mum on the Bhowanipore bypoll under pressure from the BJP,” said a Trinamul leader.
Mamata has already made clear her intentions for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, and her path to a more constructive role in national politics will need the blessings of the UPA chairperson.
A senior Congress leader said it was difficult for any party to commit itself to a coalition demands at this stage.
“Without power, it is difficult to sustain a front for a long time. The UPA exists on paper now. Maybe in early 2024 there will be some noise over it. Though it will depend entirely on the position the Opposition parties will be in towards the end of 2023,” the Congress leader said.
Mamata, however, would like to push for an early referendum from within the parties opposed to the BJP to develop a consensus, as it will give her time to manoeuvre in Bengal, either entirely on her own as she did in 2019 or by throwing tidbits to the Congress, which is a weaker force in the state.
“It is convention that the leader of the biggest party leads the alliance. Congress is still the biggest party in the UPA,” said a Congress leader. “Her victory in the Assembly elections have raised her stature but whether that be enough to propel her for the biggest role is not yet clear.”
In the elections that have been held till date since the BJP came to power, the local requirements of each state have helped create a political formation. Like in Maharashtra, the Maha Vikas Agadhi came into being in a post-result scenario. In Tamil Nadu, the DMK was backed by parties that included Congress and the Left.
Unlike parties like the DMK and the Shiv Sena, the Trinamul Congress has not displayed any accommodative bent of mind. Rather it has actively poached leaders from both the Left and the Congress, weakening the Opposition space in the state and leaving the field entirely to the BJP.
“Mamata could become the convenor but then she would have to sit outside the ring. She also has to be in the fray. Now it is too early to say whether she will be acceptable to the other parties. Conversely, she may not be open to work with or under a younger leader from the Congress. This visit is for her to test the waters,” said a political observer.
