On Wednesday, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee thanked Opposition leaders after they backed her as the leader of INDIA bloc amid discussions about leadership change.
“I am grateful to all the leaders who have honoured me. I wish good health to all of them. May they be well, may their party be well. May India be well,” the West Bengal CM said during an event in Purba Medinipur. Meanwhile TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said Mamata is interested in building an alternative platform which can defeat BJP.
“”Mamata Banerjee has made it clear that she is not interested in any ‘chair’ in Delhi. She is interested in building an alternative platform which can defeat the BJP. Within the INDIA alliance, in West Bengal we have defeated the BJP, under the leadership of Hemant Soren in Jharkhand, JMM defeated BJP,” he said.
The demand for a change in leadership of the Opposition bloc surfaced after the Congress’s dismal showing in the Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana Assembly polls with some INDIA constituents accusing the Congress of not “taking its allies” along.
The chorus gained momentum after the drubbing of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), of which the Congress is a part, in the Maharashtra elections. One of the first voices seeking a change of guard came just two days after the Maharashtra poll results when the TMC’s Kalyan Banerjee urged the Congress leaders to “keep their egos aside” and recognise Mamata as the “natural leader of the INDIA bloc”.
