Former Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has lost Bengal, but there are indications that she hopes to play a role nationally. This became clear not just in the recently held INDIA bloc meet, but also in her subsequent interaction with reporters.
Asked whether she would support Congress’s Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial face of the Opposition Bloc for the 2029 general election, Banerjee adroitly sidestepped the question.
“We are one family. We will decide when the time comes,” she added. There was even talk of projecting her as the bloc’s Prime Ministerial face. Her cooperation was even sought for a non-Congress non-BJP Third Front, which never materialised.
Asked whether she would support Congress’s Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial face of the Opposition Bloc for the 2029 general election, Banerjee adroitly sidestepped the question. Banerjee had been one of the key interlocuters of the Opposition ahead of the 2019 and 2024 elections.
“Don’t ask questions of this nature,” Banerjee said. Banerjee had immediately dialled Baby, sources said. She said there was an urgent need for the entire Opposition to unite and draw up a common strategy. At the press conference after the meeting, she said she was ready to campaign for the DMK, Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party and Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party if asked.
