Mamata Meets Stalin In Chennai; Bengal Opposition Criticises The Visit

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin at his residence in Chennai on Wednesday. Banerjee said she was in the city to attend a family function of West Bengal Governor La Ganesan.

The meeting comes at a time when regional leaders like Arvind Kejriwal, K Chandrasekhar Rao and Banerjee herself are wanting to spread their party base and ensure opposition unity as they gear up for 2024 elections.

Political commentators were quick to point out the contradictions in their political alignments. While Stalin has a good relationship with the Congress at the state and national level, Mamata doesn’t. Even the Bharat Jodo Yatra had started from Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari.

When asked about the meeting with Stalin, Banerjee said that it was just a courtesy call where they had a cup of coffee. Both Banerjee and Stalin said that politics and election related issues were not discussed during the meeting.

Stalin recalled Banerjee’s earlier visit to Chennai when she inaugurated Karunanidhi’s statue at the Murasoli office. He also said that he had accepted Banerjee’s invite to visit her state.

The opposition in Bengal criticised the visit.

BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said “Earlier too, she tried to forge an alliance of Opposition parties against the BJP. But her plans fell flat as the BJP emerged victorious in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and increased its seats. This time also, Banerjee will fail in her effort to bring opposition parties together.”

Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury described Banerjee’s visit as “nothing but an attempt to restore her lost credentials in Indian politics.”

CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said, “I don’t see any logic behind a chief minister visiting the family programme of the governor on taxpayers’ money. She is actually escaping the state when job aspirants are holding demonstrations demanding employment. She is not at all bothered about them and is fleeing from reality.”