Ridiculing the Trinamool Congress' slogan for change in the forthcoming West Bengal assembly polls, BJP today questioned the ability of its former ally to govern the state if voted to power.
"The so-called alternative to the CPI(M) is hardly likely to govern well ... Their track record in running the party or the ministry (at the Centre) does not inspire the confidence that they can govern," BJP leader Arun Jaitley said at the party's mandal presidents' conference here.
Stating that the Congress-Trinamool Congress alliance "would not last", he said, "While the Trinamool Congress is dependent on one leader, the Congress is dependent on one family. Conflict has already begun between the two parties."
Jaitley said the 2011 assembly elections would be a turning point in the state's politics as also at the national level. "After this election, the Left will not have a hold on any major state government. With their defeat, the Marxists will not be a position to build a third front at the Centre."
Observing that the upcoming assembly polls have brought about a "new political churning" in the state, the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha said that people were wary about both the CPI(M)-led Left Front and the Congress-Trinamool alliance.
"This new churning is an opportunity for us. People are now asking what is the alternative? The BJP will be the third alternative in the state on the basis of patriotism and good governance," he said.
The BJP will contest all the 294 seats in the state, Jaitley added.
