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Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi
Despite continuing optimism in the Congress on an electoral alliance with the Trinamul Congress in West Bengal, the deal is yet to fructify, with state Congress chief Pranab Mukherjee seemingly annoyed by Mamata Banerjee's "impossible demands".
Mukherjee reacted angrily when reporters asked him on Wednesday whether the electoral tie-up with the Trinamul would come about. "I just don't know, ask Kamal Nath," he shouted as he stormed out of the Congress headquarters.
Mukherjee's disenchantment with Trinamul chief Banerjee's hard bargaining for seats in the Marxist-ruled state has swung the spotlight on Kamal Nath, Congress general secretary in charge of West Bengal.
Former West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee chief Somen Mitra and his party colleagues Pradip Bhattacharya and Adhir Chowdhary are among those who have rushed to New Delhi for talks with the high command. The meetings, which began in Calcutta, continued at Kamal Nath's residence for the third day on Wednesday.
The Trinamul-Congress deadlock apparently results from Banerjee's determination to give only 40-odd assembly seats to the Congress, most of them in CPI-M strongholds.
"Okay, we want to defeat the Left Front government in West Bengal, but Mamata must also give us seats which are not so difficult to contest," Chowdhary, Member of Parliament from Behrampore, said.
While the stalemate thus continues, Banerjee also has reason to be distressed. On Tuesday, about 9,000 Trinamul workers along with others from the Forward Bloc joined the BJP, much to the latter's glee. Significantly, there are many Muslim members among those who have joined the saffron party. They said, "The BJP is not a communal party and we look forward to seeing the back of the Left Front government now." "Now let Mamata Banerjee fight the elections. Her departure from the NDA is a stab in the back of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and that is why even her party workers are revolting against her. She will find matters too hot to handle now," the BJP's West Bengal unit chief, Ashim Ghosh, told rediff.com Another aspect that could sabotage the prospects of a Trinamul-Congress tie-up is the claim of several Congress members that Banerjee's party still clandestinely maintains its links with the BJP. Congress president Sonia Gandhi has already told party members that they will have no truck with any party in any circumstances if it has links with "communal forces". YOU MAY ALSO WANT TO SEE: BJP calls off alliance with Trinamul Back to top
Significantly, there are many Muslim members among those who have joined the saffron party. They said, "The BJP is not a communal party and we look forward to seeing the back of the Left Front government now."
"Now let Mamata Banerjee fight the elections. Her departure from the NDA is a stab in the back of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and that is why even her party workers are revolting against her. She will find matters too hot to handle now," the BJP's West Bengal unit chief, Ashim Ghosh, told rediff.com
Another aspect that could sabotage the prospects of a Trinamul-Congress tie-up is the claim of several Congress members that Banerjee's party still clandestinely maintains its links with the BJP.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has already told party members that they will have no truck with any party in any circumstances if it has links with "communal forces".
YOU MAY ALSO WANT TO SEE: BJP calls off alliance with Trinamul
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