Click to play videoNew Delhi: Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee may have pushed the Nano out of Singur but she has found her way into the hearts of the rural voter in Communist Bengal. And riding that wave of popularity she has now tied up with Congress, the party she had left eleven years ago. An initially reluctant External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, has now agreed to a Congress-Trinamool alliance.
The meeting came even as Trinamool won a landslide victory in the Bishnupur West Assembly by election after the Congress withdrew its candidature.
"We had a useful discussion. We have some compulsions to announce the outcome of the discussion at present but soon we will declare the final arrangement," Pranab Mukherjee said after meeting with Mamata.
For Mamata Banerjee this is the best arrangement. She can now ensure that the anti-Left votes won't be split and can combine her growing influence in south Bengal with the Congress clout in central Bengal.
"Our discussions were very useful. One of the things that were discussed were that we are going to battle the fight against CPI(M). We hope this time the CPI(M) will be out," she said.
A CNN-IBN-CSDS poll has shown that for the first time in many years the Left is looking vulnerable. It may still secure 46 per cent of the votes but the Trinamool Congress is catching up at 26 per cent and if you add the Congress's 17 per cent, it's going to be a close fight.
For the Congress, the Bengal alliance is a significant gain. A Sunday evening meeting between Sonia Gandhi and Samajwadi chief Mulayam Singh Yadav also helped firm up the Uttar Pradesh alliance for the ruling party.
Congress may have to concede a larger number of seats in UP but it couldn't have bargained playing second fiddle to the Samajwadi Party beyond a point.
"We are at verge of finalising a seat-sharing deal with the Congress. We believe an understanding is in the interest of both parties. We have agreed on 15 seats and are willing to negotiate," Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh let on on Sunday night.
The Samajwadi Party is now reportedly ready to concede 17 out of 80 seats in the state to the Congress.
Unlike the BJP, the Congress is gaining new friends and trying to avoid a division in non-BJP and non-NDA votes. Its only problem is that regional parties are reducing it to a junior partner in different states.
With the Samajwadi Party and The Trinamool on board, the Congress' next big worry is its alliance with the NCP. Sharad Pawar has already made it clear he won't play second fiddle in Maharashtra and he says that the Congress should consider a national level alliance with the NCP rather than state-wise tie ups.
"If a national-level alliance does not happen with the Congress, then we will think of alternatives," Pawar stated.
When the two parties sit down to discuss seat sharing next week, the NCP will demand a lion's share in Maharashtra. It seems as if the Congress will certainly have its work cut out in the coming days.
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