Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee meets Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in New Delhi on June 6, 2024.
| Photo Credit: ANI
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) is not wholly satisfied with the INDIA bloc’s strategy of taking the “appropriate steps” at the “appropriate time”, arguing that the Opposition does not have the luxury of sitting around for the next five years. Lobbying for more votaries for its position, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Thursday met Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav in Delhi and flew to Mumbai to meet Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray.
The two meetings come a day after the INDIA bloc meeting where it was resolved that the bloc, while remaining vigilant, will wait and watch. During the meeting, according to sources, Mr. Banerjee had suggested that the resolution should include a sentence categorically stating that the bloc will keep its doors open for N. Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party and Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United). But this suggestion was rejected, as many felt that the bloc need not spell it out.
At the end of the meeting, Mr. Banerjee had a sidebar with AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha too. Mr. Banerjee, as per sources, will be holding more one-on-one meetings with the other constituents of the bloc.
“We don’t have the luxury of sitting around for the next five years. We have to strike now,” a senior TMC leader said. Later in the day, Mr. Banerjee also flew down to meet Mr. Thackeray. The TMC is of the view that the allies should be actively sought out. They also suggested that Mr. Thackeray should take efforts to reach out to the Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena.
At the INDIA meet on Wednesday, Mr. Banerjee had also said that three BJP MPs were in touch with his party and could change sides. The Congress, meanwhile, has added one independent MP to its tally, reaching a total of 100 seats.
“Modi’s BJP ran the government in India for 10 years. He and his government have been REJECTED. That is the starting point. We move forward from here” party’s Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien said when asked about the way forward for the bloc.
