Post-Karnataka, hint of a shift from Mamata: ‘Ready to support Cong where it is strong’

TMC chief avoided mention of Cong even in her Karnataka poll results message. On Monday, says nothing wrong with party backing Cong, if the latter supports regional parties on their turfs

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee addresses a press conference at Nabanna in Howrah. (PTI, file)

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IN THE first signal of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s softening of stand towards the Congress, she said here on Monday that her party was “ready to support the Congress where it is strong”.

Mamata’s statement comes two days after the Congress won the Karnataka Assembly elections decisively. In her message after the results, the West Bengal Chief Minister had avoided mentioning the Congress altogether.

On Monday, the TMC chief said: “We are ready to support the Congress where it is strong, but the Congress should stop fighting against us here every day.”

#WATCH | Wherever a regional political party is strong there BJP cannot fight. The parties which are strong in a particular region should fight together. I am supporting Congress in Karnataka but it should not fight against me in Bengal: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee pic.twitter.com/wIazux6oKq

— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2023

One of the biggest hurdles in the Opposition unity talks is deciding the question of who will lead such a front, with regional parties increasingly demanding that the Congress concentrate on seats where it is strong and leave the ones where the other parties are strong to them.

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Given that it is daggers drawn with the Congress in West Bengal, the TMC has danced around the question of partnership with the party. In Parliament too, it has been careful not to be seen as too aligned with issues the Congress raises, and stayed away from several joint Opposition meetings in the last session.

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Mamata’s Monday remarks indicate that the Karnataka results could mark a tilting of the scales.

The TMC supremo said Monday: “Wherever the Congress is strong, 200 seats or something, let them fight, we will give support. Nothing is wrong with that. But they must support other political parties too. I am giving you the support in Karnataka and you are fighting against me every day… that should not be the case. If you want to get some good things, you have to sacrifice something too, in some area.”

On seat adjustment among Opposition parties, Mamata said: “It is not in the final stages. When it is discussed, it will be discussed.”

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In her remarks after the Karnataka results, Mamata had saluted the people of the state and slammed the BJP, but avoided a mention of the Congress. “I believe arrogance, discriminatory behaviour, agency politics (use of Central agencies) and the BJP’s atrocities against the common man have led to today’s results. I salute the people of Karnataka for voting against the oppressive measures of the BJP and practising ‘No Vote To the BJP’… Elections are slated for Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in the near future. I am sure that the BJP will lose in these states too,” she said.