TMC in crisis, Abhishek Banerjee meets Rahul Gandhi to repair ties with Congress

TRinamool united states congress (TMC) subject superior general secretarial assistant Abhishek Banerjee met Leader of the oppositeness in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday to explore ways to deepen ties, even as the TMC top brass dismissed speculation of a merger of the two parties as “baseless”.A senior TMC leader, aware of the details, said the two leaders discussed “a lot of issues including the plans of the INDIA alliance and the way ahead for the two parties”.“There were also some political discussions related to Rahul Gandhi’s remarks at the INDIA meeting on vote chori (vote theft),” the leader said, adding that the two leaders also discussed improving coordination among parties of the Opposition bloc.Abhishek Banerjee’s meeting with Rahul Gandhi comes a day after TMC chief Mamata Banerjee met Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi at her residence in Delhi for 50 minutes. This was the first meeting between the two leaders after a gap of five years. Banerjee last came to meet Gandhi in 2021 after securing the third consecutive term in West Bengal.The back-to-back meetings come against a string of setbacks to Mamata’s party and indicate a sense of urgency.The TMC, which was defeated in the West Bengal elections, has also lost 59 of its 78 MLAs (two were expelled) to a rebellion, and is staring at a similar splinter group formation in the Lok Sabha. Two of its 13 Rajya Sabha MPs have already resigned.Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said he wasn’t aware of any discussions for a merger but underlined TMC’s changed approach after facing reversals in Bengal.“I am not an astrologer. I have no information about any merger or such things involving Bengal. Perhaps if a formal decision is reached on any matter, we will certainly be taken into confidence. Regarding the TMC party, you can all see that the party has been scattered, the senior leaders of the party are running around...For so long, they never felt the need to meet with Congress party leaders. Now, however, they feel that perhaps they should.”To be sure, the Trinamool Congress hasn’t ruled out the possibilities of an alliance with the Congress in West Bengal, something they avoided in the past 14 years.“There was a solid bonding,” a senior TMC leader said, in response to a question about the meeting with Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday.Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee come to power in an alliance with the Congress in 2011. In September 2012, the Congress ministers in Banerjee’s government resigned after TMC quit the UPA.“In this situation, a tie up with the Congress is beneficial for Mamata,” said a senior Congress leader.Underlining the significance of the meeting, TMC leaders pointed out that it was scheduled for 45 minutes but went on for “88 minutes”.The TMC is also in touch with the DMK, which didn’t come to the INDIA meeting on Monday after the Congress supported the TVK government.TMC and Congress leaders also pointed out that the two parties have coordinated on the schedule and planning.“It was even decided that instead of all leaders, the Congress would address the media. In Sonia and Mamata’s meeting, the discussions were broadly on the INDIA alliance. At the fag end of the meeting, it was decided that there should be another meeting between the two parties.The TMC brass is expected to meet Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge shortly.Kolkata-based political commentator Suman Chattopadhyay said the meetings were “of little use”.“The Congress should go with the Left in West Bengal for its revival. Gandhis should not forget how Mamata won the 2011 elections with the help of the Congress and for the next 15 years, she tried her best to demolish the Congress in West Bengal.”