Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has invited Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee to return to the Congress along with her remaining MPs and MLAs. Chowdhury said the Congress would be ready to accept Banerjee leadership in West Bengal if she decided to rejoin the party.
The statement came on Thursday, October 1, amid a major political discussion around the TMC and opposition unity. Chowdhury referred to Banerjee recent involvement with the Congress led INDIA alliance while making his appeal. However, the invitation came with a condition. Chowdhury asked Banerjee to join the Congress while leaving behind her baggage, which was widely understood as a reference to her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, the TMC national general secretary.
Chowdhury also recalled that Banerjee started her political career with the Congress before leaving the party and forming the TMC in 1998. The TMC later became a major political force in West Bengal and ended the Left Front 34 year rule in 2011.
The TMC has not accepted the proposal. Senior party leader Sougata Roy said the party would consider such a proposal only if it came formally from the Congress leadership. He also said the TMC remains part of the INDIA alliance and described Abhishek Banerjee as a party leader. The BJP has also reacted to the exchange, while the political debate over the future of the TMC and opposition parties continues.
