Trinamool mouthpiece article sparks row

Congress questions projection of Mamata as face of Opposition

A frontpage article in the Trinamool Congress’ mouthpiece, Jaago Bangla, headlined “Rahul could not, Mamata is the real Opposition face”, has triggered a political storm of speculation about the party chief being projected as the Opposition’s prime ministerial face for the 2024 elections.

“We cannot think of an Opposition without the Congress. But Rahul Gandhi has not been able to stand up to Narendra Modi as the face of the Opposition. The main face of the Opposition now is Mamata Banerjee. We will campaign all over the country with the popular leader, Mamata Banerjee, as the face of the Opposition,” the article published on Friday said.

The State Congress leadership reacted sharply to the piece, with West Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury saying that such developments will create a rift in the Opposition unity.