Amidst speculations of forming a united front against the BJP in 2019 general elections, Trinamool Congress president and Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee landed in the Capital on Monday. Mamata will on Tuesday attend a dinner hosted by NCP chief Sharad Pawar where the possibility of working out a united front is expected to be discussed. She will also meet AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal along with some other leaders of various regional parties.
Interestingly, there is no news so far about any meeting between Mamata and Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi even though reports quoting sources in the TMC said efforts are on to arrange a meeting between Mamata and Sonia. However, given the fact that Mamata has been projecting herself as a leader of a potential non-BJP, non-Congress front a meeting with Rahul Gandhi is unlikely.
Mamta’s visit to New Delhi is seen as a bid to unite opposition parties and comes close to her Rs Delhi Chalo’ statement made in Kolkata. “Some are saying that the BJP’s next target is Bengal. But for the sake of the country we have set our target on Delhi, on lal Quila (Red Fort),” Mamata had said earlier this month. To gather support for the united front Mamata recently held a meeting with Telangana CM and TRS president K Chandrashekar Rao in Kolkata where the possibility of forming a “Federal Front” for 2019 elections was discussed. The two leaders also held discussions on floor strategy over the no-confidence notices given by TDP and YSR Congress in the lok Sabha. She is also engaging with other leaders to build on the front.