Rahul Gandhi is known to have assured the Bengal Pradesh Congress leaders that there will be no truck with the Trinamool Congress in the coming Assembly elections as “he is also convinced that the State Congress has paid dearly on account of previous alliances with Mamata Banerjee,” senior PCC leaders said on Monday after emerging from a lengthy meeting with the Congress vice-president in Delhi.
Gandhi had called the PCC leaders for their opinion on pre-poll understanding either with the left or the Trinamool. Not only did the State unit present a united face arguing against any kind of understanding with Mamata Banerjee but also they told him about the “tremendous ground swell in favour of left-Congress alliance to overthrow the dictatorial regime being run by the Bengal Chief Minister.”
According to insiders sources 15 leaders out of 17 who met Gandhi voted in favour of an electoral adjustment with the left. “We told him that this is not only a question of political stratagem but also a question of our survival as a party in Bengal” PCC president Adhir Chowdhury said adding “we have unanimously told him how our party has suffered going with Mamata Banerjee and he has agreed to that.”
The State leaders have made their point clear that there is no question of any alliance with the Trinamool Congress and that the rank and file will never accept any such move, Chowdhury said.
On whether, Gandhi was game for talks with the left Front senior Pradesh Congress leader Abdul Mannan who is credited with getting the Supreme Court order for a CBI probe in the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam said “we have conveyed our opinion to the top leadership and he has said that he will communicate that to party Sonia Gandhi following which a final decision will be taken. But he has appreciated our point that the Congress has suffered dearly in Bengal on account of its alliance with the Trinamool.”
Another senior leader, OP Mishra who had earlier wrote to the high command in favour of an alliance with the left and said that the two parties might win 185 seats if they fought jointly said “the popular mood is in favour of the alliance which we had told the leadership and now we have to wait for their decision.”
Meanwhile, CPI(M) politburo member Biman Bose on Monday refused to comment on Monday’s talks saying the left had already spoken its mind and it was the turn of the Congress to do its bit.