Mamata’s desperate tie-up attempt to save own seat?

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s desperate bid to forge an anti-Left alliance with the Congress has come in for criticism from her own partymen.

At least four Trinamool leaders have openly asked Mamata to start poll preparations independently instead of waiting indefinitely for an alliance. Political observers too feel, that strictly going by statistics of last Lok Sabha elections, the alliance would help protect Mamata’s place in her traditional constituency rather than improving Trinamool’s poll prospects in the state.

Trinamool leaders, who requested Mamata to go it alone in the elections include party’s Rajya Sabha member Mukul Roy, senior party MLAs Partho Chattopadhyay, Subrata Bakshi and youth leader Madan Mitra. Their contention is that Trinamool will stand to gain by contesting alone. Since Trinamool’s priority is the 2011 assembly elections, the party should work towards that goal, they said. 

Mamata, however, has dismissed their suggestion and told them that a Congress-Trinamool tie-up was needed.

Political analysts too feel that personal gains were driving Mamata towards an alliance with the Congress. The Trinamool chief would face a tough contest in the absence of a poll alliance. “In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, Mamata won by slightly less than one lakh votes. However after delimitation, Mamata’s lead will automatically come down to just over 20,000,” a political analyst said.

Sumanta Ray Chaudhuri/ DNA-Daily News & Analysis Source: 3D Syndication

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