Congress, TMC dismiss merger buzz amid West Bengal political churn
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Sources in both the Congress and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Wednesday dismissed speculation that the West Bengal-based party could merge with its parent organisation, the Congress.
The speculation gathered pace after TMC chief Mamata Banerjee met Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday, followed by a meeting between TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday.
The discussions come amid political turbulence within the TMC after its defeat in the recent West Bengal Assembly elections. The party has witnessed a steady exodus of leaders, with Rajya Sabha member Sushmita Dev becoming the latest senior leader to resign on Wednesday. She is the second TMC Rajya Sabha member to quit after Sukhendu Sekhar Roy. Dev also met Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma during the day.
Amid the speculation, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut argued that parties such as the TMC and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), which originated from the Congress, should reunite with the grand old party.
Calling such a move the “need of the hour”, Raut said discussions along these lines were already taking place within the Congress and among opposition parties.
Meanwhile, rebel TMC leader Ritabrata Banerjee rejected the idea of a merger, asserting that the dissident faction represented the “real TMC”.
“We are the real TMC and have no plans to merge with the Congress,” Banerjee said.
He claimed that the strength of the rebel camp had increased from 58 to 64 MLAs. He also said rebel TMC MPs in the Lok Sabha would continue supporting the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
While the Mamata Banerjee-led faction disputes these numbers, the dissident camp claims that 20 of the party’s 28 Lok Sabha MPs have informed Speaker Om Birla about the formation of a separate parliamentary bloc under the leadership of Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and pledged support to the NDA.
Mamata Banerjee had broken away from the Congress in 1997 and formally launched the All India Trinamool Congress on January 1, 1998.
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