Bengal BJP MP urges Congress, Left to join hands to defeat TMC in rural polls
The Hindu
The Congress and the Left Front, however, dismissed BJP MP Saumitra Khan’s proposal by terming the BJP and the TMC as ‘two sides of the same coin’
BJP MP Saumitra Khan urged all Opposition parties, including the Congress and the Left Front, to join hands with the saffron camp to defeat the Trinamool Congress in the panchayat polls due next year.
The Congress and the Left Front, however, dismissed Mr. Khan’s proposal by terming the BJP and the TMC as “two sides of the same coin”.
The ruling TMC claimed that Mr. Khan’s appeal proved that the three parties have a tacit understanding in West Bengal.
“In the rural polls at the booth level, the fight should be TMC versus all. All we want is to defeat the TMC, and anyone or any force willing to fight against the TMC can join hands. If someone at the booth level can defeat the TMC and needs our support, we will support them,” Mr. Khan told reporters in Durgapur on November 8.
His comments came against the backdrop of the victory of Opposition parties in cooperative elections in Purba Medinipur and some other parts of the state.
West Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the grand old party would never join hands with the saffron camp.
“Yes, in West Bengal, we are fighting against the TMC. But that doesn’t mean we will join hands with the BJP. For us, the TMC and the BJP are grave threats to Bengal,” he said.