The MP underlined Banerjee’s 40 years of political struggle and her career as a Parliamentarian as well as the CM of West Bengal.
(Photo: IANS)
Derek O’Brien, the Trinamool Congress Member of the Parliament in Rajya Sabha, hinted on Wednesday that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is fit for the post of the Prime Minister projecting her as a mass leader who has acceptance not only in her home state but also the country.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, O’Brien said that the period 2018-19 is the year of “think federal”. He said that the objective is to remove the government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre.
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“This 2018-2019. This is the year of ‘think federal’. But these things would be decided later. The reality is that everyone is focused on electing a people-centric government and removing the BJP. So, one of the most senior leader in this matrix is Mamata Banerjee,” O’Brien told reporters.
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The MP underlined Banerjee’s 40 years of political struggle and her career as a Parliamentarian as well as the CM of West Bengal.
The Congress had on Tuesday said that it is ready to accept any non-RSS candidate from among the Opposition as the next Prime Minister. The grand old party’s statement triggered the debate over who could be the best candidate for the role among a gamut of like-minded, anti-BJP parties from across the country.
O’Brien said that Banerjee’s name “emerging as one of the front runners is nothing new”.
The West Bengal CM, who is also the chief of the TMC, has been at the forefront of a major attempt in stitching together various non-BJP parties into a united opposition to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019.
Banerjee is set to visit Delhi for three days starting 31 July to invite Opposition leaders to a mega rally in Kolkata which will be held on 19 January at the Brigade Ground.
During her previous visits to Delhi, she met the leaders of regional and opposition parties as part of her efforts to cobble up support for the federal front.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati is another name doing the rounds besides Banerjee’s.
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