TMC appeals to Left-Cong to fight "bigger evil" BJP, gets rejected

It is due to MamataBanerjee that the BJP has gained strength in Bengal, he said.Senior CPIM leader Sujan Chakraborty said both BJPand TMC are trying to woo Left votes after branding the Leftand Congress as a negligible political force in the state.Both TMC and BJP are now either praising the Left orare seeking our support.

The Trinamool Congress onSaturday appealed to the Left Front-Congress alliance not toinvite the ''bigger evil'' BJP to settle scores with it in thepoll-bound state.

The Left and Congress, however, rejected the appealoutright and termed TMC as the ''B team'' of the saffron camp inBengal.

This is the second time in the last one month that TMChas appealed to the Left and Congress to put up an unitedfight against BJP in the coming assembly polls in the state.

BJP has expressed elation over the proposal and saidit proves that the saffron party is the only alternative toTMC in the state.

Election to the 294-member state assembly is due inApril-May.

''If the Left Front and the Congress are genuinelyanti-BJP they should be behind Mamata Banerjee in her fightagainst the communal and divisive politics of the saffronparty,'' West Bengal Minister of State for ParliamentaryAffairs, Tapas Roy said here.

''While opposing Mamata Banerjee and TMC they shouldnot commit the mistake of inviting the bigger evil BJP inBengal. They should look at the situation in Tripura anddecide what to do,'' he said.

This is not the first time that TMC has spoken infavour of a united platform of the party along with the Leftand Congress to fight BJP. Several other TMC leaders had doneso earlier.

Reacting to TMC's proposal, state senior Congressleader Abdul Mannan blamed the party for the growth of BJP inBengal.

''We are not interested in aligning with the TMC. Whyis the TMC now interested in an alliance with us afterpoaching our MLAs for the last 10 years ? It is due to MamataBanerjee that the BJP has gained strength in Bengal,'' he said.

Senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said both BJPand TMC are trying to woo Left votes after branding the Leftand Congress as a negligible political force in the state.

''Both TMC and BJP are now either praising the Left orare seeking our support. It only reflects that we are still aforce to reckon with,'' he said.

The Left and Congress will defeat both TMC and theBJP in the next elections, Chakraborty asserted.

The BJP in its turn said TMC's appeal proves that theruling party in West Bengal cannot put up a fight against thesaffron party on its own.

''It also proves the desperation of TMC. They can'tfight against us on their own so they are seeking help fromother parties. It also proves that BJP is the only alternativeto the TMC,'' BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said.

The Left and Congress had aligned to fight against BJPand TMC in Bengal after being pushed to the corner in the 2019Lok Sabha polls.

The CPI(M)-led Left Front had drawn a blank and theCongress had managed to bag just two out of 42 Lok Sabha seatsin the state.

The BJP had on the other hand bagged 18 seats - fourless than TMC to emerge as the prime challenger to the rulingparty in the state.

In the 2016 assembly polls, the Left and Congress hadcome together and bagged 76 seats. TMC had bagged 211 seats.

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