After several leaders from its fold joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the last few months, Congress has now decided to launch an all-out attack on the Mamata Banerjee-led party with its top leaders taking charge.
Mamata's "there is no UPA" remark after a meeting in Mumbai with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, an ally of Congress in Maharashtra, evoked a strong response from the party, currently being led by interim president Sonia Gandhi.
At an event in Mumbai, the TMC chief said if all the regional parties come together then defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be very easy. Trinamool Congress was once part of the UPA or United Progressive Alliance, an alliance of several parties including Congress that remained in power at the Centre for 10 years from 2004 to 2014 when the BJP came to power.
After the TMC's landslide victory in West Bengal Assembly polls held earlier this year, Mamata is continuously pitching for a strong alternative at the national level but indirectly taking on Congress.
In a seeming attempt at pan-national expansion or alliance with "like minded-parties" ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, she has recently visited Delhi and Mumbai where she held a series of meetings with top leaders of various political outfits.
However, she didn't meet Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi during her last visit.
Interestingly, during her Delhi visit in July this year, Mamata Banerjee had met Congress interim Chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. According to sources in the Congress party, the decision to attack Mamata was taken at a meeting held on Wednesday night.
"There were discussions among the top leaders of Congress late night on Wednesday in which it has been decided that the party will now make big attacks against Mamata."
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha termed the meeting between Mamata Banerjee and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar as a "pre-meditated conspiracy" to weaken the grand old party and alleged the TMC chief had become "BJP's oxygen supplier."
Congress LoP in RS, Mallikarjun Kharge added, "We've tried to include them (TMC) in various socio-political issues where Congress made its name. Opposition should not get divided and fight amongst themselves, we've to fight against BJP together."
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