There would be no alliance between the Congress and the Trinamool Congress and both the parties made it clear on Friday indicating they would go all out to outdo each other in the coming general elections.
Conveying his party’s decision to go it alone in the polls, senior Trinamool Congress leader Mukul Roy said he had “no such information as of now regarding any alliance” adding “we are confident of winning the elections fighting alone as we did during the panchayat and the municipal polls in Bengal.” On whether his party would go for any alliance with the Congress if that party sent any feeler he said, “the Trinamool is living peacefully alone” adding “our leader Mamata Banerjee will announce the names of the candidates at an appropriate time.”
In a curious coincidence of things, Roy made his statement almost at a time when Bengal Congress president Adhir Chowdhury was in a meeting with the his party chief Sonia Gandhi who had urgently summoned him to Delhi get his opinion about any alliance with Banerjee.
Emerging from the meeting, the junior Minister for Railways said the high command had given the green-signalled his no-alliance suggestions with the Trinamool. PCC leaders said quoting Chowdhury that he had been able to convince Janpath about the futility of any alliance with Trinamool. Chowdhury known for his strong anti-left and anti-Mamata attitude had earlier told his confidants that he would resist any proposal of alliance with the Trinamool and would step down as the PCC president if was forced to do so.
PCC leaders also said that Gandhi had asked Chowdhury “to go all out and make all possible preparations to ensure electoral success in the State.” The Congress president also said she would come to Bengal holding electoral meetings. Meanwhile, Chowdhury’s decision to go all-out tended to leave many a senior State leaders in a difficult situation as many of them are reluctant to contest the polls with defeat clearly staring at their faces.
“Had there been any alliance then it would be a different thing but now contesting polls will mean a sure defeat” a PCC member and a sitting MlA said adding defeats could in the longer run affect his electoral chances in the State polls. Among the heavyweights who have been asked by Chowdhury to contest are former PCC presidents Manas Bhunia, Pradip Bhattacharya, former MlAs and known faces Abdul Mannan, Nirbed Roy, Arunabha Ghosh et al.