West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s message to her Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal was concise: Why take on both the BJP and the Congress when the need of the hour is to “isolate Modi and the BJP”. According to sources, while the two chief ministers discussed a host of issues — from alleged political interference by the Centre in activities of state governments to an alleged witch hunt against the opposition — the prime focus was on “isolating the BJP”. “Mamata’s advice to Kejriwal was to not take on both parties. While AAP might be opposing the Congress in Punjab, it is essentially a party born out of Delhi and needs to focus on the capital right now. It was conveyed that opposing both Congress and BJP is weakening the party; instead the two should focus on a common enemy,” a source said. While Banerjee officially maintained that the discussion was over “politics” — including her announcement that AAP and TMC would “act together in the Presidential election” — sources maintained that the “advice” was not limited to the upcoming presidential race. A source said, “All secular parties need to come together against communalism in various states. While Kejriwal and AAP might be facing setbacks right now, it is a party born out of a people’s movement and continues to be politically relevant.” But an AAP leader explained, “The problem is the animosity between the Congress and AAP. That is hard to bridge.” Kejriwal and AAP have been opposed to the Congress and have repeatedly accused the party of corruption and nepotism. Before meeting Kejriwal, Mamata met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. A senior TMC leader said, “Mamata is acting as a bridge between Kejriwal and Sonia because of the present political scenario.”
