Congress - Mamta infighting

Local deal sinks, play for Delhi honour
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Calcutta, May 2: Mamata Banerjee today said “the alliance had broken up in Bengal”, blaming the Congress for the collapse of the municipal poll tie-up but adding that she would stay in the UPA government as long as “I can do that with honour”.

Predictably, she released the list of her party candidates for all 141 wards in the Calcutta Municipal Corporation this afternoon, a day after the Congress announced its nominees for 88 wards. Besides the CMC, 80 other municipal bodies are going to the polls on May 30.

“The Congress has broken the alliance here (in Bengal) to help the CPM win the civic polls. We have not…. But we are not going to leave an inch of ground to those who have ruined the state for over 32 years. In order to oust the CPM, we have decided to field candidates for all the 141 wards in Calcutta though we had announced candidates for 115 seats earlier,” she told a media conference at her Kalighat residence.

The Congress had staked claim to 51 wards in the CMC but Mamata had refused to part with more than 25 for the alliance partner. One ward was set aside for the SUCI.

But the Trinamul Congress chief made it clear she would remain with the UPA though there was no alliance with the Congress in Bengal.

“The UPA is not the government of the Congress alone. There is the DMK, NCP, Muslim League and others. One has to keep in mind that the Congress’s strength in the coalition is 206 and not 276. All our 20 MPs, including an Independent, are backing the government. I shall not disturb the government as long as I can work for the people with honour,” she said.

Her outburst is being seen as a reflection of her strained relations with the Centre on issues ranging from the land acquisition bill — over which she had walked out of a cabinet meeting — to the finance ministry’s refusal to withdraw the service tax on railway freight. By citing her “honour” at the Centre for a local issue, Mamata has used the opportunity provided by the municipal polls to articulate her complaints about the UPA.

Although none expects her to sever her alliance with the Congress at the national level as of now, her tirade against the party has prompted state BJP president Rahul Sinha to offer her a renewed alliance with their party in front of two central BJP leaders — Smriti Irani and Chandan Mitra. “We are ready to collaborate with Mamatadi if she wants to. But it is up to her to take a decision in this regard after the failure of the Congress-Trinamul alliance,” Sinha said.

Mamata’s anger at the Congress in today’s media conference was the strongest in recent times. “If I have to lower my head, I will do so before the people and not before the agents of the CPM. I will have no truck with those who are providing oxygen to the CPM in Bengal,” she said.

She did not take the names of any central Congress leaders, but her anger was clearly directed at the party high command. At no stage of discussion, did she take Bengal leaders into confidence.

All her negotiations concerning the civic polls were conducted in Delhi with central leaders like the AICC general secretary in charge of Bengal, K. Keshava Rao, and Ahmed Patel, the political secretary to Sonia Gandhi.

Asked if the central Congress leaders had any role in breaking up the alliance in Bengal, the Trinamul chief parried the question.

But she said: “I don’t know if anybody has any role or not. But they did not go by the formula I had offered them. I had told them that the seat adjustment should be worked out on the basis of the party’s strength in a parliamentary constituency. Did I ask for any seats in Malda or Murshidabad where I have no MPs? Then, why will there be a pick-and-choose for Calcutta?” she asked.

Trinamul sources said Mamata had made this representation to Rao and Patel when they conveyed to her the state leaders’ insistence on more than 25 seats.

“In Calcutta, we have two MPs, while the Congress has none. So why did Congress central leaders refuse to buy Mamatadi’s arguments and finally advise state leaders to declare their candidates for 88 seats. This rigid stand on the part of Congress leaders broke the alliance,” complained a Trinamul general secretary.

Mamata, however, did not hold any discussion with Bengal Congress chief Pranab Mukherjee, which signals strained relations between them. The Trinamul chief stayed away, along with her MPs, from the House when Mukherjee was replying to the debate on the finance bill.

State Congress working president Pradip Bhattacharya regretted Mamata’s decision but said the severance of the alliance for the civic polls would have no impact on next year’s Assembly elections.

“We are hurt by Mamata’s decision. There is no denying that the alliance has broken up for the civic polls. But we are sure it will have no bearing on next year’s Assembly polls,” he said.

When Mamta's party won a land-slide victory in the last parliamentary elections I had said that she would keep winning unless she performed preromptory act of madness. It seems we are now coming to that stage.
Both Congress and Trinamul know that they are in the boat together now whether it sinks or floats is up to them. If the opposition vote is divided, the CPM will be the winner and the party must now be winking and chuckling and the old man down there must be saying "I told you so"
There some in the congress (I won't mention names) who have always acted as CPM stooges. They were called "Torbuj",green outside and red inside.Mamta too should not be adamant.
The best course of action would be to merge her party in the congress and give her full command. But she would not want that for then she would lose her relevance and could not bargain with the centre.
Women are very capricious. Mamta will not budge from her position and it is up to the centre to pamper her whims.
Give her a sufficiently long rope to become a Chief Minister and hang herself on her own contradictions. Bull dozing is one thing and administration is a completely different thing.
One term with Mamta as chief minister would disillusion the public, of her abilities.