Downplaying her flopped rally with activist Anna Hazare in Delhi on Wednesday, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee iterated on Thursday that her party would in any case emerge as the third largest outfit behind the BJP and Congress in the coming lok Sabha elections.
The Bengal Chief Minister who returned from Delhi on Thursday chose to ignore the Ramlila Ground setback saying Trinamool was the only outfit that never compromised on its policies.
Sidestepping pointed posers on the unexpectedly low turnout at the Delhi venue where her party had expected a crowd of “not less than a lakh”, Banerjee said a time had come when everyone should look ahead.
“Trinamool Congress never compromises on ideological issues. With the blessing of Maa, Maati, Manush we will definitely emerge the third largest party in the country after the elections,” she said reminding how the people from other States were making a beeline for membership in her party.
“I will personally go out on campaigning as we will contest from many States like Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur, Kerala, Odisha and Delhi,” she said adding more names of candidates from other States would be announced gradually.
On the question of alliance she said unlike the Congress and the BJP the Trinamool was going to the polls alone as “we will not enter into any kind of unholy alliance. We believe in alliance of the people which will see us through.”
Banerjee’s much touted joint rally with Hazare at Ramlila Ground in Delhi ended in a damp squib after the anti-corruption activist refused to show up at the venue following a hopelessly low turnout.
While the Opposition ridiculed the flopped show, a section of the Trinamool leaders questioned “flawed reading of situations in Delhi.”
A State leader said the party misread the political chemistry in Delhi where voters were divided between the Congress, BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party.
“Hence we should have taken the AAP into confidence instead of rallying behind Annaji or as an alternative we could have taken people from Bengal,” said the leader reminding “even the left Front brings people from neighbouring States for such rallies.
BJP State president Rahul Sinha said, “Such a situation happens when one gets too big for one’s shoes. She should realise her limitations before nourishing such big aspirations.”