Following her party’s significant victory against the BJP in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has hinted at the possibility of the INDIA bloc taking charge at the Centre, remarking that governments sometimes endure for only a day.
Addressing reporters after a Trinamool Parliamentary Party meeting on Saturday, just ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s oath-taking ceremony, Mamata Banerjee announced her party’s decision to abstain from the event, citing concerns about the government’s formation being “illegitimate and undemocratic.”
With Prime Minister Modi and the BJP failing to secure an outright majority in the recent elections, having garnered 240 Lok Sabha seats, 32 short of the majority mark, they are now relying on alliances, particularly with Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP and Nitish Kumar’s JDU.
Taking a swipe at the BJP’s predicament despite its previous electoral successes, Banerjee remarked, “Those who boasted of 400 seats couldn’t even achieve a simple majority independently.” She emphasized the potential for the INDIA alliance, comprising Congress and other regional parties, to form a new government, cautioning against assuming the durability of the current administration.
The INDIA alliance, buoyed by a revitalized Congress and robust performances by allies like the Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, and the DMK, secured 232 Lok Sabha seats. Despite being the fourth largest party in Parliament, the INDIA bloc still falls short of a majority.
Mamata Banerjee reiterated her party’s stance against attending the oath-taking ceremony, condemning legislative measures like the Citizenship Amendment Act passed through “brute force,” and asserting the need for their annulment.
Additionally, she invited all members of the INDIA bloc to Kolkata for a meeting, highlighting the prolonged election process in West Bengal and advocating for reforms.
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The Trinamool Congress’s impressive performance in West Bengal saw them securing 29 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats, further strengthening Banerjee’s position within the party. At the party meeting, she was elected as the chairperson of the Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party, with Sudip Bandyopadhyay appointed as the party’s leader in the Lok Sabha and Derek O’Brien retaining his position as the leader in the Rajya Sabha, supported by first-time MP Sagarika Ghosh as deputy leader.
