Left's Biman Bose reiterates 'TMC brought BJP in Bengal' claim, denies rift with Congress

In poll-bound West Bengal, Left Front Chairperson Biman Bose on Sunday addressed a press briefing and said that there are no tensions between the Left and the Congress. Bose reiterated his allegations that it was TMC who paved way for BJP in West Bengal. He said that Congress and BJP will fight the election together in against BJP & TMC.

Bose said, "To save West Bengal from religious polarisation, we will fight the election together against BJP & TMC. There is no misunderstanding between us (Congress and the Left Front). Though discussion on seat-sharing is yet to take place."

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Meanwhile, on TMC's appeal, while the Congress proposed that CM Mamata's party should merge with it instead to put up a united fight against the BJP, CPI(M) lashed out at the party. Speaking to the media, CPI(M) politburo member Mohammed Salim alleged that TMC's alleged misgovernance and divisive tactics have paved the way for the rise of BJP in West Bengal. Mocking the ruling Trinamool Congress, BJP state president Dilip Ghosh on Thursday said that TMC's appeal reflects desperation. Opining that CM Mamata Banerjee's party is fearing the impending defeat, Ghosh said that TMC has "lost the plot" even before the commencement of the elections in the state. On the other hand, Congress said that Trinamool should come together with them to defeat the BJP.

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TMC's appeal to Congress and left parties

On Wednesday, while addressing a press conference, in a big development, TMC urged the left parties and the Congress to support CM Mamata Banerjee in the upcoming polls. TMC MP Saugata Roy remarked, "If the Left Front and the Congress are genuine anti-BJP forces, they should line up behind Trinamool Congress, because Mamata Banerjee's party is the only party fighting against the communal and divisive politics of the saffron party. Mamata Banerjee is the real face of secularism." 

The Trinamool has recently come to be faced with somewhat of an exodus, with key MLAs and party leaders voicing discontent and jumping ship to the BJP, chief among them Suvendu Adhikari who also has two MPs in his immediate family. Amid this, the BJP has claimed that it has a list of 41 TMC MLAs who want to join the party, and has even gone so far as to claim that the numbers would be significant enough to imperil Mamata Banerjee's government even before the polls. 

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