Targeting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her remark that the Trinamool Congress “will support the INDIA alliance from the outside,” state Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Thursday termed the CM an “opportunist politician” who “has lost her credibility.” He further called it a “ploy to stay alive in national politics.”
Chowdhury’s scathing remarks came a day after Mamata claimed that the INDIA bloc would form the government at the Centre after the Lok Sabha polls end and the TMC will support it from the outside.
Addressing a rally in support of TMC’s Hooghly candidate Rachna Banerjee in Chinsura, Mamata said, “The BJP will lose in the first four phases of the polls. There is no chance of it winning in the remaining three. They will make a lot of noise, but they will not be able to win. Many people are making big calculations. I am talking about Delhi. We will provide leadership to the INDIA alliance, and help them in every way from outside…”
Speaking to reporters, Chowdhury claimed that the TMC supremo is now endorsing the opposition INDIA bloc recognising its growing momentum and aiming to maintain her relevance in national politics.
He also termed Banerjee as an “opportunist politician” who altered her stance after realising the changing political landscape.
“This clearly indicates that the India alliance is striding ahead and on the verge of forming the government and that’s is why as an astute and opportunist leader, Mamata Banerjee has decided to extend her support well in advance,” Chowdhury was quoted as saying by PTI.
“She (Banerjee) has lost her credibility. She has understood the crude reality that voters are gearing towards the INDIA bloc. She has realised that she has been isolated in national politics. This is a ploy to stay alive in national politics,” he added.
Earlier in the day, speaking to ANI, the Congress leader said “he does not trust Mamata Banerjee as she has run away from the INDIA alliance,” and added that the TMC chief could “support the BJP” in the Lok Sabha elections.
“I don’t trust her. She left the alliance and ran away. She can also go towards the BJP… They were talking about destroying the Congress party and that Congress would not get more than 40 seats, but now she is saying that it means that the Congress party and the alliance are coming to power,” he said.
Along with the TMC, the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) are among the Opposition parties that form the INDIA bloc. While the Congress and the CPI(M) are contesting the Lok Sabha polls together, the TMC had earlier announced that it would go it alone in the state. In the 42 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal, the Congress has fielded candidates in 12 constituencies and the CPI(M) in the rest.