Click to play videoKolkata: Trinamool Congress seems to have found a friend in the Samajwadi Party. SP supremo Amar Singh met Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on Wednesday and promised to back her in the agitations over Singur and Nandigram that begin August 20.
“My heart has always been with Mamata. My head with the Left,” Amar Singh said.
This is not a new alliance, but an old friendship coming out of the shadows. Amar Singh claims recent developments in Nandigram and Singur prompted him to listen to his heart.
“When I found that people like Mrinal Sen and Aparna Sen, who have been traditional Left supporters, have shifted allegiance and have started supporting Mamata, I thought I should listen to my heart,” he said.
This comes as bad news, not just for the Left in Bengal, but also Tata Motors. The company has hinted it may wind up operations there.
"I think people in Bengal should feel proud that this product is actually going to come out from their state. And it is for them I think, to build up public opinion on what should be done or not. But if people think that this kind of thing should not happen, then we will see,” said Tata Motors MD Ravi Kant.
Not just Singur, Mamata now has SP's support in her proposed agitation against the entry of big players in large format retailing in Bengal.
With differences within the Left already sharp on this issue, the developments could end up becoming the latest irritants for Budhhadeb Bhattacharjee and the beginning of a fresh headache for the CPM.
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