Unsure of the impact of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposed July 16 visit to Midnapore in Bengal where he is likely to personally deliver the message of the upward revision of MSP for crops at a farmers’ rally State Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed her willingness to ally with arch enemy Congress in the coming lok Sabha elections.
In an interview the Chief Minister has expressed her desire to ally with the likeminded parties to uproot the BJP Government which was conducting itself like “a hundred Hitlers.”
Talking about her excellent chemistry with Sonia Gandhi before making a loaded statement — commensurate to her Prime Ministerial ambitions — saying present Congress president Rahul Gandhi was “much junior” to her, Banerjee said “instead of preparing for the PM candidature let us work together.”
On any kind of alliance with the Congress she seemed to undertake forall the regional parties like a coordinator if not their leader and said, “I don’t have any problem. My intention will be to unite with all. But it is not my decision alone. It is not my decision alone. It has to be the decision of all regional parties. I have not problem working with anybody as long as they are efficient and their intentions, their philosophy, their ideology are clear.”
Her point about Rahul Gandhi seemed to be very clear and straight when she said, “What I can say about Rajiv ji or Sonia ji I cannot say about Rahul because he is much junior.”
On her philosophy of alliances she said, “If the Congress is strong and gets more seats in some places let it take the lead. If the regional parties are together somewhere else they can be the decision makers.”
Her statement comes almost in tandem with a section of the Bengal Pradesh Congress leaders advocating a pro-Trinamool line in a meeting with Rahul Gandhi. The other section of the Congress led by PCC president Adhir Chowdhury however voted against it.
On a possible BSP-SP alliance she said “If Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav work together in Uttar Pradesh then the game will be over. Then after the elections a common minimum agenda can be prepared.”
On whether she was ruling herself out as a prospective Prime Minister she said, “Who am I to rule out anythingIJ I know I am a seasoned politician, a very senior politician. After my struggles, I have been MP seven times and MlA twice and CM twice. So I cannot say anything that others may not like.”
She would however elaborate on whether that “others” meant Rahul Gandhi or Sharad Pawar or anyone else.
Meanwhile, the TMC leadership took a dig at the Prime Minister for “coming to disturb Bengal,” saying “even if he comes a hundred times to here the BJP will not win a single seat from this State.” The BJP presently has 2 MP seats. They will lose even the two that they have now,” Minister Partho Chatterjee said adding “first they should handle Delhi and then they should come to Bengal.”
Modi is likely to come to Midnapore to give a first-hand information about the increase in MSP of crops, said a senior State BJP leader adding the district was chosen as a venue because the TMC had done well in that district in the recent elections.