West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee not perturbed

At a time when the clamour for an electoral alliance had been growing in both Left Front and Congress camps, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee Friday said she was not at all perturbed by such a prospect. Terming the proposed alliance as “unprincipled and unethical” she said it would not be able to stop the Trinamul Congress’ victory march. “The CPI(M) and the Congress are trying to frighten us,” she said.

They are saying what will happen to the TMC if they join hands. I do not give a damn who joins hands with whom,” she said. Ms Banerjee was speaking at the extended general council meeting of the Trinamul Congress which was held at the Netaji Indoor Stadium.

TMC MPs, MLAs, district council members, municipality councillors and senior district leaders were present at the meeting where Ms Banerjee laid down the guidelines for the coming Assembly election.

In the past 45 days, important CPI(M) and Congress leaders like Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Surjya Kanta Mishra, Biman Bose, Adhir Chowdhury, Abu Hashem Khan Chowdhury et al have strongly advocated a tactical tie-up to defeat the Trinamul Congress.

Even a day ago, former chief minister, Mr Bhattacharjee, said the people wanted such an alliance to end “Mamata’s misrule”.

Possibly fearing that such a vociferous clamour for Opposition unity may unnerve Trinamul Congress workers, Ms Banerjee sought to keep their morale high by dismissing the proposed alliance as irrelevant and inconsequential. “They are saying that an alliance is necessary to weaken the TMC. They will never be able to weaken us. As long as I live I will keep my head high and live like a singher bachchha (lion’s cub),” she added.

Taking potshots at the Congress and the CPI(M) for “opportunistic understanding”, she said that the two had become like two flowers of the same branch. “A party which sacrifices its ideals and ideology will cease to exist,” she said. She warned the CPI(M) that its dream of returning to power in Bengal would remain just that — a dream.

In a bid to dissuade the Congress from entering into an alliance with the CPI(M), Ms Banerjee reminded it of the CPI(M)’s old diatribe against its icons. “You want to join hands with the CPI(M) which had called Rajiv Gandhi Bofors Gandhi and accused Indira Gandhi of being a dictator,” she added.

Ms Banerjee had earlier told her partymen to seek people’s mandate by highlighting the achievements of her government in the past five years. But today she hinted at a change in her poll strategy due to the CPI(M) and Congress’ growing proximity. “We want them to forge an alliance. You have handed us a poll issue,” she added.