Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury added, “Congress has 20% of Opposition’s total vote share. Does she have it?”
Kolkata: A day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee advised the Congress to join hands and move towards toppling the BJP government in the Centre in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, top Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury called the former a “mad person”.
Speaking to the media, Chowdhury said, “Not right to respond to a mad person. Congress has 700 MLAs across India. Does Didi have it? Congress has 20% of Opposition’s total vote share. Does she have it? She’s saying this to please BJP & act as its agent. She says things like this to stay relevant.”
He further said, “Why are you making remarks against Congress? If Congress didn’t exist then people like Mamata Banerjee would not have been born. She should remember this. They went to Goa to please BJP, they made Congress lose. You weakened Congress in Goa, everyone knows this.”
Friday, Banerjee had said, “All political polities that want to fight BJP should walk together. Congress is losing their credibility, can’t depend on Congress.” She was further quoted by ANI as saying, “Trinamool Congress got 6% votes in Goa within three months of the party’s launch there. It is enough.”
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Banerjee’s jibes came after Congress put up a poor show in all the five state Assembly election, with the worst performance in the two key states of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
Banerjee, who returned to power in West Bengal despite tough competition from the BJP, has been trying to bolster Opposition forces and bring them under a united banner. However, her attempts have not shown much translation on ground as the Opposition, till now, seems to be divided and not ready to choose a common face against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
Banerjee’s feelings were echoed by her trusted lieutenant and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim. Earlier, he had said that the Trinamool Congress has shown that a defence can be put up against BJP and suggested that the Congress should merge with it and fight BJP as one.
Banerjee had also reacted to Modi’s statement on the Assembly election results being a decision on the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and had said, “This is impractical.”
