In 2019, Miss Banerjee took initiative to unite the Opposition parties in India and held a meeting at a Brigade Parade Ground with all Opposition leaders.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at press conference at Nabanna Howrah in Kolkata on 18 May, 2021. (Photo: IANS)
The Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has praised West Bengal Mamata Banerjee and said she had single handedly won the Bengal Assembly election by defeating the BJP.
“Mamata Banerjee fought and won West Bengal polls on her own. Despite all kinds of remarks and vitriolic attacks, Bengal showed her willpower. Bengal, which gave a new lease of life to freedom struggle with two words – Vande Mataram, has shown what needs to be done for freedom.” Stressing on “regional pride”, the Shiv Sena leader said.
“Whenever regional pride is under threat, federal structure comes under pressure. West Bengal is an example of what ‘going solo’ means. Bengal saw all types of attacks, but everyone stood for the Bengali pride. Bengal has shown an example of how to safeguard regional pride.”
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Analysts believe that this has significance in building up an opposition front against the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and various state Assembly elections. Earlier, election strategist Prashant Kishor who helped Mamata Banerjee and her party to win the landslide victory in the 2021 Assembly poll, held a three-hour long discussion with NCP chief Sharad Pawar.
It is learnt that the Trinamul Congress has entered into an agreement with Prasant Kishor’s I-PAC for both 2024 Lok Sabha poll and 2026 Assembly poll. Miss Banerjee earlier said that Opposition parties should unite against the Union government that wants to bulldoze the federal structure of the country.
In 2019, Miss Banerjee took initiative to unite the Opposition parties in India and held a meeting at a Brigade Parade Ground with all Opposition leaders. Meanwhile, TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee has said the party will set up units in other states too.
“But I want to make clear that this time we will not set up units only to have an MLA. Rather, we will set up units in those states where we can win the state,” he said.
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