Sonia Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee share interesting equations. Against the backdrop of the Bengaluru opposition meetingthe power corridors are now discussing how despite all the differences between their parties, the two leaders manage to maintain close a rapport. Ties between the Congress and Trinamool Congress in West Bengal are at an all-time low. The recent Bengal panchayat elections saw widespread violence in which workers of both parties were killed during clashes. However, sources say the bitterness did not affect the opposition meeting as ties between Sonia Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee lightened the mood, which made the TMC chairperson say, “Our favourite Rahul Gandhi.”
Sources say when Mamata met Sonia on Monday evening, they greeted each other like in 2021 when the TMC chief won the West Bengal assembly elections and went to Delhi to meet the Congress leader and others.
According to them, the two leaders are quite fond of each other. Sources say at the meeting Sonia asked Mamata to sit beside her and enquired about her health. The West Bengal CM did the same. Mamata was seen sitting between Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
It wasn’t initially clear whether Mamata would attend the dinner on Monday night because of health concerns. But sources say that after meeting Sonia, she decided to stay on.
A senior TMC leader told News18, “Since the old days, Sonia Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee respect each other a lot. Even when she left the Congress and formed a new party, she maintained good relations with Sonia Gandhi. After Mamata won the 2021 elections in Bengal, she went first to Delhi and met Sonia Gandhi; Rahul Gandhi too was there. It’s only that state politics creates problems, otherwise, Sonia and Mamata have great equations.”
Back in West Bengal though the Congress leaders have gone on record stating that they will not accept any alliance with the TMC in the state. Congress spokesperson Kaustav Bagchi told News18, “Eight of our workers have died in panchayat polls. We will not accept if there is any alliance here in Bengal. We will not allow it.”
The BJP took a dig at the Congress, saying how can it forget the lives lost in the panchayat poll violence.
In 2011, the TMC-Congress alliance took place when the Congress’s Bengal workers were not ready to go with Mamata. Critics say the Congress high command has never given importance to state leaders and this time there is apprehension that if the Congress plans to join hands with Trinamool in Bengal then importance will not be given to local leaders.
In the Meghalaya elections, Rahul Gandhi and Abhishek Banerjee had given strong statements against each other’s parties. Also, the TMC’s national ambitions have caused it to poach leaders from the Congress. This too has been a point of conflict.
At the Patna opposition meeting, Mamata Banerjee spoke to Rahul Gandhi, but there did not seem to be any enthusiasm. But in Bengaluru, when Mamata met Sonia, things changed.
When the meeting ended on July 17, Mamata came out flashing a victory sign and it was clear that the old equations had given birth to new possibilities. On the morning of July 18, when Mamata sat between Sonia and Rahul, it was clear that old friendships had rejuvenated.
Sources also say that Mamata was the first to speak at the meeting on the decision to name the opposition alliance INDIA.
TMC insiders say that the name was proposed by the West Bengal CM, adding that she played an important role in bringing the Aam Aadmi Party and Congress together.
However, some Congress and AAP leaders too claimed that the name came from their respective parties.
BJP’s West Bengal co-incharge Amit Malviya tweeted on this point.
Opposition camp is a circus.Every party is planting news with media on how their leader had a role in the new name. RJD upstaged the formal announcement and tweeted, to find later that the name had been changed. There is also a rush to take credit for who bought AAP and…
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) July 18, 2023
Apart from its ties with the TMC, the Congress’s relations with AAP also seem to have taken a turn for the better.
On July 17, Arvind Kejriwal was greeted in Bengaluru by top Congress leaders. Sources say the AAP convener also thanked the Congress for its support on the Delhi ordinance row. According to them, Rahul spoke to Kejriwal a couple of times on Tuesday and they shook hands at the end of the meeting.
Kejriwal also spoke on the role of governors allegedly at the behest of the Centre in various states and this was supported by everyone.
Rahul Gandhi was the last speaker at the meeting and there was consensus on this as well.
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin was vocal on the “misuse” of ED and CBI.
Sources say the issue of a common minimum programme will be settled at the next meeting in Mumbai. A committee is being formed and many other things are in the pipeline.
A big question still remains on what happens to the workers and local leaders of the Congress, AAP, and TMC in Punjab, Delhi, and West Bengal.