New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee Monday said that she was not in favour of the INDIA bloc projecting any prime ministerial face ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, pointing out the emergence of H.D. Deve Gowda and I.K. Gujral as post-poll consensus faces to lead governments in the past.
Banerjee said “it would be better” to announce a prime ministerial candidate after the elections, while brushing off suggestions that the INDIA bloc of parties opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was already late in sorting out key areas of cooperation including seat-sharing.
“Better late than never,” she said, while interacting with a group of reporters during her ongoing visit to the national capital.
Her remarks come a day ahead of the INDIA bloc’s fourth joint meeting in Delhi. Developments in the meeting will be keenly watched as efforts to give shape to the alliance came to a virtual standstill after its third meeting in Mumbai in September with the Congress shifting its focus to assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram.
However, despite the Congress’ drubbing in MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan — with Telangana being the only bright spot for the party — Banerjee asserted that she feels that opposition parties are very much in the game to defeat the BJP in the general election.
“I do not accept that 2024 is a done deal,” she said.
TMC is among opposition parties that have been advocating the need to wrap up seat-sharing talks as early as possible to efficiently counter the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls. In the last meeting of the bloc in early September, the TMC had suggested that talks on this front be completed by mid-October.
“It (seat sharing) is not that easy. In principle, if you make a policy decision then everything will run smoothly, it is my idea,” she said.
Banerjee added that she was open to the idea of launching joint campaigns and working out a common minimum agenda. “They (non-BJP voters) will unite if opposition parties unite,” she said when asked whether the Opposition could consolidate non-BJP votes.
She also said that she has “nothing personal” against Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Union Home Minister Amit Shah and that her fight is “ideological”.
But it was in response to a question about projecting a PM candidate that she expressed clear reservations. “How Deve Gowda, Gujral, Manmohan Singh became the face?” she asked.
She also refused to get drawn into a question on whether Congress MP Rahul Gandhi should announce that he is not in the race to become the PM.
“After the election, everyone will decide,” said Banerjee, who met Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal Monday evening.
Asked about the expulsion of TMC’s Mahua Moitra from the Lok Sabha, Banerjee said the party stands behind the former Krishnanagar MP. Sidestepping a query on whether the TMC will field Moitra from the same seat in the 2024 polls, Banerjee said that decision will be taken by the party’s parliamentary election committee.
“Party is fully giving support. She (Moitra) was not allowed to defend herself. It was very unfortunate,” Banerjee said.
During the interaction, she also appeared softer on the Congress’ national leadership. Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Banerjee said, was “trying her best”.
“What more can she (Sonia Gandhi) do?” asked the TMC chief.
On a possible pact between the Congress and the TMC in West Bengal, Banerjee told reporters: “Somebody must bell the cat. I don’t have any problem. They have only two seats in Bengal. I am open to discussion.”
And on whether Left parties may find a place in such an alliance in West Bengal, Banerjee said she was not averse to talks with anyone.
“Mentally you have to prepare, principally you will have to agree. I don’t have any problem, but if others have I cannot help,” she said, appearing to suggest that a possible understanding between the TMC and the Left would be impractical due to the latter’s hostile stance towards her party.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)