Mamata Wants to Lead ‘INDIA Bloc’ Straining Already Fragile Alliance

Mamata Banerjee has expressed her desire to bring the leadership of the INDIA bloc into her hands. On Friday (6th December) Banerjee said that she is ready to lead the opposition bloc if asked. The West Bengal CM and TMC supremo said she could manage the dual responsibility of running the Opposition front while continuing her role as the chief minister of West Bengal.

“I formed the INDIA bloc; now it is up to those leading the front to manage it. If they can’t run the show, what can I do?”—Mamata said to the media during an interview. Mamata also said that she is no longer leading the opposition front.

The WB CM also claimed that if given a chance she would ensure a smooth functioning of the opposition bloc. “I don't want to go outside West Bengal, but I can run it from here," she said. 

Over the past week, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee urged Congress and other INDIA bloc allies to set aside their egos and recognize Mamata as the leader of the opposition. This is backed by the argument that Banerjee has stunned the BJP and PM Narendra Modi by defeating the saffron party consistently in West Bengal.

“Mamata Banerjee has a perfect record. Whenever Narendra Modi has faced defeat, it has always been in West Bengal”—Kalyan Banerjee was quoted to have said in media while saying that she has thrown Narendra Modi out of the West Bengal Boundary in the recent by-elections. BJP had one seat and TMC had five, but in the by-election, TMC hit a six pushing BJP to zero.

Alliance partners of the INDIA bloc like Shiv Sena(UBT) have also shown interest in Mamata's willingness to lead. According to Shiv Sena (UBT) statement, they were aware of Mamata's opinion and assured that she is a major partner of the INDIA bloc in addition to other regional leaders like Arvind Kejriwal and Uddhav Thackeray.
"We know this opinion of Mamata ji. We also want her to be a major partner of the INDIA alliance. Whether it is Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal or Shiv Sena, we are all together. We will soon go to talk to Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata."

Congress on the other hand dismissed TMC’s proposal and termed it a joke. "That's a good joke," Congress leader Manickam Tagore commented on the proposal of making Banerjee the leader of the opposition Bloc.
For BJP, it is like an opportunity to hit out at the bloc.  BJP termed the INDIA bloc as nothing more than a group of parties only to oppose PM Mpodi, with no other common agenda. BJP took the opportunity to single out the Congress and Rahul Gandhi.

"Mamata Banerjee's statement makes it clear that the entire INDI alliance does not have faith in the leadership of Rahul Gandhi. This also shows that the INDIA leaders have an internal competition with each other," BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said on Saturday.