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NEW DELHI: “Arrogance” that continues to remain the hallmark of the Congress first family has again come in the way of mending fences with regional parties. Instead of returning chuffed with success, the virtually friendless West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee returned from the international conference on Jawaharlal Nehru visibly upset and angry. about the “shoddy” manner in which she was treated.
On returning to Kolkata she let it be known to select Trinamool Congress leaders who in turn informed the media that Banerjee was not at all happy with the seating arrangements at the conference. As the only non-Congress chief minister to have attended the meeting she was left to sit with Left leader Sitaram Yechury and Janata Dal(U) president Sharad Yadav instead of being on stage with the senior Congress leaders and foreign dignitaries.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi also did not go out of her way to welcome the Trinamool Congress leader, restricting the interaction to perfunctory greetings. Banerjee, looking for support at a time when constituency compulsions prevent her from supporting the BJP, has been in political isolation for a while and was looking on this meeting as a step towards rehabilitating her on the national stage. But as the sources said, she was effectively reduced to being just another leader and not recognised as the chief minister of West Bengal.
The Left leaders attended the meeting, including CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat, Yechury and CPI’s D.Raja. The last two exchanged greetings with their arch rival who was clearly very uncomfortable about the seating arrangements that did not give her the expected preferential treatment. The presence of the Left held the Congress back from spending too much time on Banerjee, given the hostility between the two in West Bengal.
Significantly Banerjee skipped lunch, and did not attend the second day of the conference. In fact from the Vigyan Bhawan venue she drove straight to the residence of veteran BJP leader L.K.Advani to send out a clear message to the Congress party that she was not friendless, and that now she was interested in mending fences. Sources said that the Trinamool Congress leader had expected a separate meeting with Sonia Gandhi, but the formal interaction at the venue, was a clear message that this was not happening.
Banerjee is not part of the front of the erstwhile Janata Dal parties that recently came together at a meeting at Samajwadi party leader Mulayam Singh’s residence. The earlier interaction between her and Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik and AIADMK’s J.Jayalalithaa has come to nought with the latter being debarred from elections in a corruption case. Her relentless attack on Left parties in West Bengal makes even the reconciliation that she has hinted at impossible. She cannot support the BJP openly as one, this will deprive her of the support of minorities in her state; and two, she now looks upon it as an immediate rival as it is gaining ground in West Bengal.
The invitation from the Congress was thus accepted by Banerjee with alacrity but the Congress party that could have found a friend in her for the longer term at this stage, seems to have let go of the opportunity yet again.
