CPI, RSP to avoid Mamata Banerjee brigade rally

After CPI(M), the allies of the Left Front – RSP and CPI – have said that they will not be present at the brigade rally, which West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has organised on January 19 to initiate an anti-BJP Federal Front ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Although the state unit of CPI did not get any invitation, party general secretary Sudhakar Reddy and party MP D Raja got Mamata's invitation. They said they will refrain from attending the rally because Mamata's party was out to make Bengal Opposition-free, so there was no question of strengthening her hand. RSP state secretary. Kshiti Goswami, during their recent state committee meeting, put the topic up for consensus and it was fiercely objected by almost all members saying that all Left Front parties should distance themselves from the rally.

Sources said that another ally of the Left Front, Forward Bloc would too follow suit. Leaders of the regional parties, however are in a 'wait and watch' mode at the moment. Amitava Dutta, the former West Bengal state president of Janata Dal (United), has now defected to the Loktantrik Janata Dal, a party floated by ex-JDU leader Sharad Yadav. Talking to DNA, Dutta said that before joining hands with the TMC, they will have to be sure whether Mamata's BJP opposition was a real one.

"We need to ensure that Mamata was truly anti-BJP and not its soft ally. In the last four-and-a-half years, we have seen that she has allowed Modi to escape in Rajya Sabha on crucial issues and in return there has been a 'go slow' strategy by the BJP on Saradha and Narada issues. So we believe there is a possibility of a clandestine relationship between the TMC and the BJP," Dutta said.

Bijay Singh Bhaduria, West Bengal president of Samajwadi Party (SP) said that trends showed the BJP will be losing at least 100 seats in north India. "The next government will hopefully be formed by a non-BJP alliance of the Opposition. A clearer picture will emerge after the results of the upcoming Assembly elections in the five states," he told DNA.

Binda Ray, West Bengal state president of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on the other hand said that if they were invited to join hands with TMC, there would have to be a seat-sharing negotiation. "To begin with, I have not yet received any formal invitation. Only if I get an invitation by Mamata or my party chief Lalu Prasad Yadav asks me to go there, will I go, but there should be a seat-sharing arrangement," he told DNA. Asked how many seats he would ask for, he said, "I will ask for 10 Lok Sabha seats but I am sure TMC will not give us that many. They will give us two or at the most three seats. In that case, we will settle for Asansol, Durgapur and Malda seats," Ray said.