Mamata chosen TMC's Parliamentary party chairperson ahead of her Delhi visit

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was on Friday unanimously chosen as the chairperson of the TMC Parliamentary party, setting the stage for her enhanced national profile and an opportunity to interact with top opposition leaders ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The appointment of Banerjee, who has been a seven-term MP till she became Chief Minister in 2011, as the chairperson of the Parliamentary board came just two days after she gave the clarion call to defeat the Narendra Modi government in 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Banerjee is not a member of Parliament.

Announcing this at a press conference in Delhi, Rajya Sabha member Derek O'Brien said she has been the guiding force behind the TMC parliamentary party for a long time.

''We are just formalising a reality. Our chairperson is a seven-time Member of Parliament. She has the vision to guide the parliamentary party. She has the experience and insight. She was anyway guiding us,'' he said.

The decision has been taken both at a conceptual and tactical level, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader said.

''She has been a call away always. We feel more empowered,'' O'Brien said.

He also said that all TMC MPs unanimously chose Banerjee as their leader.

The development came just a day after the party national general secretary and nephew of Banerjee held a meeting with the party MPs in Delhi on Thursday.

TMC with 22 Lok Sabha MPs is the fourth largest party in the lower house along with YSR Congress Party after BJP, Congress and DMK.

In Rajya Sabha, with 11 MPs the Trinamool Congress is the third largest party after BJP and Congress.

''This is a very significant development in the present political situation as appointment as the chairperson of the parliamentary board will help our provide as she will now have more access with the leaders of various other opposition parties and will also help in expanding our base across the country,'' TMC Rajya Sabha chief whip Sukhendu Sekhar Ray said.

He, however, said according to TMC's constitution, there is no problem in having a person who is not an MP as a chairperson of the parliamentary board.

Echoing him, party's state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said Banerjee's valued experience as seven-term MP, two-time railway minister, besides her brief tenure in coal and sports ministry, will politically help the party when it is trying to cobble up an opposition front ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The development came just days ahead of her visit to New Delhi, where she is scheduled to meet leaders of various opposition parties to discuss an opposition front.

She is also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Reacting to the development, West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said the TMC's dream of Banerjee being the next Prime Minister would fall flat very soon.

''They will have to face a rude shock after 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The TMC should have learnt its lesson after its 2019 performance when its tally dropped from 34 to 22. This is laughable that a person who is not even a member of the parliament is the chairperson of parliamentary board,'' he said.

However, the Congress leaders came out with a guarded response but said an opposition front against the BJP would never fructify till the Congress leads it.

''It is their party's decision; we can't comment on it. But if someone thinks that they can form an opposition front by undermining the Congress, then they are wrong,'' senior Congress leader and MP Pradip Bhattacharya said.

According to political observers, through this announcement, TMC has sent out a message that they would like to have Banerjee leading the anti-BJP front as an opposition face against Narendra Modi for the next Lok Sabha polls.

This announcement is very significant as through this, they have sent out a message that they want to project Mamata Banerjee as the face of the opposition front. It is not only a message to the BJP but also the Congress, political observers said.

The TMC supremo, who has emerged as the doughtiest opposition face after winning one of the toughest elections, apparently seeks to take up a larger role in national politics and is expected to use her tried-and-tested strategies to confront the saffron camp in 2024.

During her annual address at the party's Martyrs' Day rally earlier this week, Banerjee asked the opposition leaders to unite and start working towards forming a 'Gathbandhan' (alliance) right away if they were willing to oust the Modi government from power. With the Congress' numbers dipping in Parliament and the TMC's emphatic victory in the assembly polls and its performance in the general elections, the Bengal party is looking to displace the Congress as the voice of the Opposition.

What has played to the TMC's advantage is that it does not find itself at odds with other regional opposition parties in other states, something that the Congress has to contend with, a senior TMC leader said.