Mamata Banerjee may pull out her ministers

No call from Delhi yet,TMC considers exiting govt,support from outside

With the 72-hour deadline given by the Trinamool Congress to the UPA government on FDI in multi-brand diesel and hike in diesel prices drawing close,the party is said to be contemplating withdrawal of its ministers from the Union Cabinet.

Sources said the TMC,which is the second largest partner in the UPA,may withdraw ministers and go in for issue-based support from outside. This course is based on the realisation that pulling out may not cause the government to fall as other parties may extend support to the UPA.

However,having made a public proclamation of its deadline,the party feels it has to take a decisive step should the Centre ignores its demands as seems likely. A TMC MP confirmed that till Sunday evening,TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had received no placatory call from the UPA.

Apart from not bringing matters to a head,withdrawal of ministers also allows Mamata to keep equidistance from both the UPA and NDA for now. She can later take a call depending on how the situation develops.

While a section of the party feels exiting the ministry would have an adverse impact on development projects in West Bengal,Mamata is said to believe that withdrawal of support over FDI,hike in diesel prices and cut in domestic LPG subsidy would not be held against it by the public.

A TMC leader admitted that their internal assessments had also shown that the partys Lok Sabha tally would improve in case of a mid-term poll even without an alliance with the Congress. The party has already decided to go it alone in the panchayat polls next year. The partys internal analysis is that if it gets control of over 14-15 zila parishads,it will be in a position to win at least 30 Lok Sabha seats if a mid-term Lok Sabha poll is held.

While the Left will gain from this division in the anti-Left vote,the TMC estimates,it wont get more than eight seats.

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By extending support to Congress candidates for the posts of president and vice-president,Mamata obeyed the principle of coalition politics. She performed rajdharma. Despite her busy schedule,she attended the coordination meet of the UPA last month. Despite all her gestures,the Congress has taken a series of unpopular moves. What made Mamata more annoyed is that her views were not sought by the UPA managers on any of these issues, a TMC MP said.

State panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee,who is very close to Mamata,said: The partys decision to oppose FDI in retail trade was taken much before the 2009 Lok Sabha polls,and the Congress was aware of our stand.