Baseless rumours: Congress rejects TMC merger buzz amid crisis in West Bengal
The speculation comes amid a split within the TMC's legislative and parliamentary wings, barely a month after the party was voted out of power in West Bengal, securing only 80 seats in the 294-member Assembly.
The Congress on Thursday rubbished speculation about a possible merger with the Trinamool Congress (TMC), describing such reports as baseless rumours.
Addressing a press conference, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal said discussions during a recent meeting with former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee were confined to national issues and did not involve any talks on a merger between the two parties.
"These are baseless rumours. The meeting between TMC and Congress leaders was only to discuss raising the national issues in a more effective manner," he said.
SPECULATION ROSE AFTER INDIA BLOC MEET
Speculation over a possible merger between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Congress intensified after former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee attended the INDIA bloc meeting in New Delhi on Monday. Subsequently, both held separate meetings with Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi.
The former CM has historically been a selective participant in INDIA bloc meetings, often deputing senior party leaders to represent the TMC. She had also skipped the Opposition alliance's inaugural meeting in Patna in June 2023, besides several subsequent meetings held in the national capital.
The speculation comes amid a split within the TMC's legislative and parliamentary wings, barely a month after the party was voted out of power in West Bengal, securing only 80 seats in the 294-member Assembly.
TMC DENIES MERGER BUZZ
However, the Trinamool Congress has not officially commented on the possibility of a merger. TMC MP Saugata Roy, considered a close aide of Mamata Banerjee, said it was important for the party to work with the Congress, but added that it remains to be seen whether that cooperation would take the form of an alliance or a merger.
Even Ritabrata Banerjee, who claims the support of 64 out of the 80 TMC MLAs in West Bengal, has rubbished the reports of a merger with the Congress.
"Regarding a merger, as for our legislative party, we are certainly not joining the Congress. The MPs in Parliament — more than two-thirds of them — are not merging with the Congress either. So, who is merging with whom?" he said.
MAMATA'S LONG CONGRESS CAREER
The three-time West Bengal Chief Minister spent more than two decades in the Congress before parting ways with the party in 1997 amid growing differences with its state leadership.
She was also critical of what she saw as the Congress high command's neglect of West Bengal and believed the party lacked the resolve to effectively challenge the CPI(M)-led Left Front government.
In 1998, she launched the Trinamool Congress, which went on to emerge as the principal opposition force in the state before unseating the Left Front in the landmark 2011 Assembly elections.
For now, both the Congress and the TMC have firmly dismissed speculation about a merger. However, with the TMC grappling with internal turmoil and an electoral setback, political observers are closely watching whether Mamata Banerjee may seek a broader realignment with the Congress to revive her political fortunes.
The Congress on Thursday rubbished speculation about a possible merger with the Trinamool Congress (TMC), describing such reports as baseless rumours.
Addressing a press conference, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal said discussions during a recent meeting with former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee were confined to national issues and did not involve any talks on a merger between the two parties.
"These are baseless rumours. The meeting between TMC and Congress leaders was only to discuss raising the national issues in a more effective manner," he said.
SPECULATION ROSE AFTER INDIA BLOC MEET
Speculation over a possible merger between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Congress intensified after former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee attended the INDIA bloc meeting in New Delhi on Monday. Subsequently, both held separate meetings with Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi.
The former CM has historically been a selective participant in INDIA bloc meetings, often deputing senior party leaders to represent the TMC. She had also skipped the Opposition alliance's inaugural meeting in Patna in June 2023, besides several subsequent meetings held in the national capital.
The speculation comes amid a split within the TMC's legislative and parliamentary wings, barely a month after the party was voted out of power in West Bengal, securing only 80 seats in the 294-member Assembly.
TMC DENIES MERGER BUZZ
However, the Trinamool Congress has not officially commented on the possibility of a merger. TMC MP Saugata Roy, considered a close aide of Mamata Banerjee, said it was important for the party to work with the Congress, but added that it remains to be seen whether that cooperation would take the form of an alliance or a merger.
Even Ritabrata Banerjee, who claims the support of 64 out of the 80 TMC MLAs in West Bengal, has rubbished the reports of a merger with the Congress.
"Regarding a merger, as for our legislative party, we are certainly not joining the Congress. The MPs in Parliament — more than two-thirds of them — are not merging with the Congress either. So, who is merging with whom?" he said.
MAMATA'S LONG CONGRESS CAREER
The three-time West Bengal Chief Minister spent more than two decades in the Congress before parting ways with the party in 1997 amid growing differences with its state leadership.
She was also critical of what she saw as the Congress high command's neglect of West Bengal and believed the party lacked the resolve to effectively challenge the CPI(M)-led Left Front government.
In 1998, she launched the Trinamool Congress, which went on to emerge as the principal opposition force in the state before unseating the Left Front in the landmark 2011 Assembly elections.
For now, both the Congress and the TMC have firmly dismissed speculation about a merger. However, with the TMC grappling with internal turmoil and an electoral setback, political observers are closely watching whether Mamata Banerjee may seek a broader realignment with the Congress to revive her political fortunes.
