“Rahul ji had called me…” Mamata Banerjee claims ‘all izz well’ with INDIA bloc

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee confirmed on Wednesday that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had called her two days back, inviting her to the opposition INDIA alliance meeting on December 6. The conversation between the two leaders came hours after Mamata Banerjee on Monday confirmed that she had no idea about the meeting, “never received any invite” stoking speculations if all is well within the bloc.

“The day before yesterday Rahulji phoned me and he told me about the meeting. Then I told him that  nobody told me and I did not know (about the meeting). I also had my program (6-day tour of the Northern part of Bengal). It is also true for other chief ministers. Sometimes they are also busy. If they are not informed about the program seven days ago or ten days ago (it is difficult),” said Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday before leaving for the Northern part of Bengal.

The INDIA bloc meeting which was otherwise called for December 6, has been postponed after three key leaders including Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav had backed out over multiple reasons. The possibility of the meeting at the residence of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi was revealed on December 3, the day the election results came out of four states where Congress faced a major setback in three- Rajasthan, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

J&K NC leader Omar Abdulla and Mamata Banerjee were the first to criticize Congress over the election results, both questioned if Congress should have gone for seat sharing with INDIA alliance partners (Samajwadi Party and Aam Aadmi Party) for better prospects. Akhilesh Yadav, disgruntled with Congress, had during Madhya Pradesh election campaigning had openly called the grand old party ‘chalu’ (cunning). Election results and subsequent reactions by partner allies had raised questions if the 2024 Lok Sabha elections have a forgone conclusion and if the INDIA bloc would disintegrate.

While denying any such possibility, Mamata Banerjee claimed their bloc was intact and that the leaders would meet soon. She also referred to the current disaster due to natural calamity in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and stressed in such situations it is difficult for Chief Minister M. K. Stalin to leave the state and attend any meeting. “Look how badly it has rained in Tamil Nadu. You have to consider disaster. We are concerned about Tamil Nadu and have already extended our condolences. A CM can’t leave the state when reeling with disaster. However, we will be meeting shortly whenever they decide. So do not worry”, she added.