Reported By: Kamalika Sengupta
Edited By: Oindrila Mukherjee
Last Updated: March 21, 2023, 00:35 IST
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee is now heading to Odisha, the place her counterpart Naveen Patnaik is understood to keep up an equal distance from BJP and Congress. (Image: News18/File)
TMC insiders mentioned the social gathering is planning to affix fingers with extra regional leaders to kind a entrance, which is able to stay equidistant from Congress and BJP forward of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik have met twice in latest instances, as soon as in 2017 after which in 2020, however have by no means mentioned politics as said on report. But this time, Banerjee’s go to to West Bengal’s neighbouring state on Tuesday could also be a vital one forward of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections subsequent 12 months.
The buzz round her assembly with Patnaik, which is scheduled for March 23, is at a peak in wake of her becoming a member of fingers with Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav for a so-called ‘New Front’ for the polls subsequent 12 months.
Banerjee might be providing prayers at Jagannath Mandir as she arrives in Odisha on Tuesday. Party insiders mentioned the Trinamool Congress is planning to affix fingers with extra regional leaders to kind a entrance, which is able to stay equidistant from Congress and BJP.
Senior TMC MP Sudip Banerjee mentioned, “A lot of NDA partners are unhappy; so, we will talk to them. All regional parties will work together, that’s what Mamata Banerjee wants.”
Yadav and Banerjee met final week following which they proposed an “anti-BJP and anti-Congress lobby”. “The TMC wants to unite regional parties; the Congress has failed every time and the meeting with Naveen Patnaik will be important for sure,” TMC common secretary Kunal Ghosh informed News18.
Banerjee is now heading in direction of Odisha, the place Patnaik can also be recognized to keep up an equal distance from BJP and Congress. The chief minister for the previous 22 years, he has efficiently stored the BJP out of energy in Odisha.
But if the BJD-BJP relations are analysed, an fascinating image is drawn. The BJD began its journey in 1997 and, in 1998, grew to become a BJP ally. Till 2004, all was properly between the 2 events however issues fell aside after the Kandhamal violence in 2008.
In 2009, the BJD received 14 seats within the Lok Sabha and secured 108 seats out of 147 in Odisha. In 2014, it received 20 out of 21 seats in Lok Sabha and 117 out of 147 within the meeting elections. In 2019, the BJD received 12 seats in Lok Sabha and 112 out of 147 within the meeting.
Though the BJD shouldn’t be a part of the NDA, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is a Rajya Sabha MP with BJD assist. There is a typical saying that although the BJD and BJP sees eye to eye within the state, the regional social gathering BJD maintains a distant relationship with them at a nationwide stage.
The BJD, which has been in energy in Odisha for 22 years, has backed the central authorities on points such as the Citizenship Amendment Act and in addition supported BJP’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu.
Hence, Banerjee and Patnaik’s assembly amid hopes of a powerful regional social gathering entrance has given rise to a whole lot of hypothesis. Patnaik is a robust participant in Odisha, each in Lok Sabha and the state legislative meeting. Odisha has 21 Lok Sabha seats, of which BJP received 12 and BJP eight in 2019.
Odisha income minister Pramila Mallick mentioned, “The ruling BJD has maintained equal distance and extended issue-based support. There is no problem discussing with those whose policies are compatible with BJD. The chief minister will decide.”
Odisha Congress MLA Santosh Singh Salima mentioned, “Naveen is always with the BJP. Mamata’s meeting with him will not be fruitful. Mamata-Naveen meet will be limited to a formality…”
Sources mentioned BJP, too, will hold an eye fixed on this assembly. “When Mamata Banerjee meets Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, things she must learn from him are – how to be a graceful opposition leader, govern a state without perennially being confrontational and treat all people of her state as equals and not look at them through a political prism. The gory post-poll violence will forever remain a blot on Mamata Banerjee’s hand. She is a political pariah, so no amount of political meetings will wash her sins,” mentioned BJP co-incharge of Bengal, Amit Malviya.
Read all of the Latest Politics News right here
