It was not the first time when TMC ‘gave a jolt to the Opposition unity’ in Parliament. In spite of the fact that two MPs of the West Bengal-based party were also suspended from Rajya Sabha, it stayed away from the meeting of the opposition parties on the first day of the Winter Session. Also, the TMC MPs staged a separate dharna in front of Gandhi statue and tried to forge an alliance of the opposition parties minus Congress in the Parliament. TMC staying away from the Congress-led Opposition is being seen as an effort by Mamata Banerjee to create the Third Front, keeping 2024 Lok Sabha polls in mind. Observers believe Mamata’s party is trying hard to expand beyond the boundaries of West Bengal. “TMC fighting Goa assembly elections is nothing but an attempt to weaken Congress in the state where poll-fight has been bipolar for decades,” commented a Congress leader. Besides, Mamata Banerjee meeting with Gautam Adani, who is considered close to prime minister Modi and political strategist Prashant Kishor, were perceived as attempts to undermine Congress. It is worth mentioning here that Kishor worked closely with Modi in the past when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2013. Congress supporters believe that, “TMC is trying to weaken the Congress at the behest of the ruling party”. “There seem to be a tacit understanding between the BJP and the TMC inside Parliament…No matter how loud Mamata attacks Modi, both will get electoral benefit, if Congress is weakened,” said an observer. In spite of TMC’s flip-flop attitude, Rahul Gandhi made no distinction when he met the suspended MPs in Parliament, said the source.
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