Ties with Cong only after it snaps Left links: Mamata

It is official now. The Trinamool Congress would have nothing to do with Congress till it runs a Government with Left support at the Centre. Speculation about a re-alignment of political forces in West Bengal had started after Mamata declared in Kolkata that 8220;we are with no one,8221; implying that she had broken it off with BJP.

Pointing out that her party was launched 8220;as an anti-CPIM platform8221;, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee wondered if she could join hands with Congress as long as it shared a close relationship with the Left. 8220;We have not moved an inch from our position,8221; she told reporters. 8220;How can the question of our aligning with Congress arise before it snaps ties with its Left supporters?8221; she asked.

Mamata was dismissive of the reports suggesting that she had sought a meeting with Congress President Sonia Gandhi or was in contact with Congress General Secretary Margaret Alva, who is in charge of West Bengal. Terming the reports 8220;wrong8221;, she sought to know how she could meet Sonia as long as she was aligned with the Left. Alva had told reporters earlier that she was in touch with Mamata even though it did not necessarily mean discussing the CPIM.