Congress is part of war on BJP: Mamata

NEW DELHI: Ending all speculation that she is involved in a cold war with UPA Chairperson and former Congress President Sonia Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday that no grand national political alliance against the BJP for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections can be cemented without the Congress as a partner. Banerjee made the crucial announcement after a meeting with Sonia Gandhi at the latter's residence in New Delhi on Wednesday.

The TMC leader outlined her strategy to oust Prime Minister Narendra Modi from power at the Centre in 2019, explaining that the Opposition parties must ensure that there are 1-1 contests in every constituency of the country. "The basic formula," she explained, "is that the strongest party in any seat will take on the BJP there. In this way, we will ensure that the Sangh Parivar is defeated hands down throughout India."

The TMC leader was also upbeat about the coming Karnataka Assembly polls on May 12 and expressed confidence that the Congress would be voted back to power in the state and shatter the BJP's south Indian dreams. "Whenever I come to Delhi, I meet Soniaji. She was also unwell… thus I came here to meet her," she told mediapersons here.

"We also had discussions on the one-to-one fight against the BJP in the coming Lok Sabha elections. That is the way to take on the BJP," the senior politician contended. The TMC supremo, who had been one of the stakeholders of the erstwhile Vajpayee-led NDA government at the Centre, feels that the incumbent BJP is focusing only on political vendetta… rather than on serving the people."