On Monday night, the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee arrived in New Delhi looking ahead for forging a crucial tie for 2019 Lok Sabha elections. As a part of her strategic itinerary she is scheduled to attend a dinner hosted by NCP chief Sharad Pawar today. Shw and Pawar will discuss about forming an anti-BJP front. Reports also suggest that the TMC supremo will meet UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. It however remains unknown as Banerjee had skipped the opposition party dinner hosted by the UPA chief earlier this month. Citing personal work Banerjee had sent Sudip Bandopadhyay. Mamata is also scheduled to visit Parliament on Tuesday and hold meetings with her party MPs.
This meeting holds importance as Pawar had called for a meeting of all the Opposition leaders to discuss and devise a strategy for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Post Sonia Gandhi’s dinner earlier this month, this is supposedly the biggest political gathering. Sonia’s dinner gathering saw 19 parties, including the CPI (M), NCP and Samajwadi Party attending.
Sources from TMC said that her meeting with Sonia Gandhi was a last minute addition and would be a personal one. Mamata, however, said, “She (Sonia) is hospitalised. Let her recover. I do not want to disturb her.” A meeting with Congress president Rahul Gandhi is not on cards for now. Recently there has been a political cold between the two. Banerjee has stood clear of meeting the Gandhi scion.
The TMC chief has met many opposition leaders over the last four months. The list includes Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and DMK working President MK Stalin. Mamata and Telangana CM Chandrashekar Rao’s met in Kolkata regarding the “anti-BJP and anti-Congress” front. The two leaders called for a federal front of like-minded political parties who would work towards the “people’s agenda”. Amidst all this, the political dine today meets a greater significance.