Congress asks Mamata to 'join forces' under its leadership; adds 'TMC can't survive alone'

In a bizarre offer, Congress' West Bengal in-charge Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Friday, advised Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee to join forces 'under the Congress' leadership'. Calling Congress as the only option to stop BJP, Chowdhury said Trinamool was responsible for weakening the Congress and Left, leading to BJP's rise.  Trinamool currently holds 222 seats in the 294-seat assembly, which will go to polls on April-May.

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TMC's appeal to Congress and left parties

Chowdhury's remark comes two days after TMC MP Saugata Roy urged the left parties and the Congress to support CM Mamata Banerjee in the upcoming polls. 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 Congress and Left have formally formed announced an alliance for the upcoming Bengal polls, but are yet to decide on seat-share. Trinamool currently has faced several key exits, 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, claiming 'Mamata's government will fall before polls'.

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BJP's Bengal push

The saffron party is gearing for a tough battle in Bengal - aiming to attain more than 200 seats, while not fielding a CM face yet. The BJP had already politically divided Bengal into five parts - North Bengal, Rath Bang (South Western District), Nabadwip, Medinipur and Kolkata, handpicking Shivprakash, Sunil Deodhar, Dushyant Gautam, Bhikubhai Dalsania, Ravindra Raju,  Vinod Sonkar, Harish Dwivedi to ta work on booth levels in these regions. With over 65,000 booth committees and 14,000 Shakti Kendra constituted, the BJP has appointed five veterans as central observers - with the final call to be taken by Amit Shah. Both Shah and Nadda have already visited Bengal multiple times in the past few months.

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