New Delhi: Several chief ministers have met Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he led the Bharatiya Janata Party back to power at the Centre. But the Wednesday meeting between Mamata Banerjee and the prime minister stood out.
For one, the West Bengal chief minister, over the last few years, has emerged as the loudest voice of political opposition against the prime minister and the BJP. Her party, the Trinamool Congress, has not only stood in opposition to the BJP on the ground, but has also consistently sided with the larger opposition in parliament.
And two, Modi and the BJP have assumed immense popularity in her state, as was reflected in the way the saffron party almost matched Trinamool Congress’s electoral performance in its biggest stronghold. It won 18 out of the state’s 42 seats in the general elections.
The relationship between TMC and BJP has been marked by violence and one-upmanship, and continues to remain volatile. In the absence of any credible third force in Bengal, both parties are expected to face each other directly in the assembly elections due in two years. Union home minister Amit Shah has already made the Bengal elections a prestige issue. In fact, he said that BJP’s victory will be complete only when it wrests Bengal from the TMC and Kerala from Left Democratic Front-United Democratic Front politics.
A significant number of TMC leaders and state government officials are currently under the scanner of Central intelligence agencies in different cases. This has made the relationship between West Bengal and the Centre even more tense; Banerjee views the action against her party leaders and officials as political vendetta.
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The meeting between Banerjee and Modi – also the first since the BJP won its second term – was held during one of the worst periods of Bengal’s relations with the Centre. The chief minister was expected to raise issues like Central funds which are due for her state and other contentious topics with the prime minister.
However, Banerjee’s sudden meeting with Jashodaben, the prime minister’s estranged wife, at the Kolkata airport on Tuesday brought political temperatures down. Banerjee ran into Jashodaben when she was en route to New Delhi. Jashodaben was returning from her visit to Jharkhand’s Dhanbad when they met. Both of them greeted each other and Banerjee’s gesture of gifting Jashodaben a sari was noted by the media.
In New Delhi, Banerjee met Modi, following which she said that the two had a “good debate”, and that the top agenda for discussion was the betterment of ties between the Centre and the West Bengal government. The day was marked by pleasant optics from both sides.
The prime minister’s office tweeted pictures in which Banerjee is seen as presenting a bouquet to the prime minister at his residence.
West Bengal CM @MamataOfficial calls on PM @narendramodi in New Delhi. pic.twitter.com/qxFPXTmezO
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) September 18, 2019
In her exchange with the media, the usually-confrontational Banerjee said that the meeting was “fruitful”, and she “mostly discussed development issues”. However, she stood her political ground too.
She said that she requested the prime minister to expedite the process of changing the name of West Bengal to ‘Bangla’. The West Bengal assembly has already passed a resolution in favour of changing the state’s name.
“The prime minister said he would do something about it,” she said, adding that she invited the prime minister to inaugurate Deocha Pachami, the world’s second-biggest coal block, after Durga Puja.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee speaks to the media after her meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: PTI
On a question on whether West Bengal would get an Assam-like National Register of Citizens – a contentious issue between BJP and TMC – she asserted, “Neither has any proposal come, nor will it be done.”
She said that the state and Central governments are bound by the constitution to work together, setting aside political rivalries.
She also made it an occasion to say, “We spoke of the economic progress in Bengal. Bengal’s GDP is 12.8% – number 1 in India.”
On Tuesday, Banerjee had described her scheduled meeting as a “courtesy call”, in which she wanted to discuss various issues of the state. TMC leaders had stated that this was also an attempt to mend ties with the Centre.
Does this suggest a shift in the TMC’s political strategy? A section of political observers in Bengal have been saying that Banerjee’s consistent positioning against the Centre may do her more damage against the BJP, which has emerged as the primary opposition. That the bitter political rivalry is also marked by an escalation of political violence is also likely to be perceived as a failure of her government.
It may be too early to say whether Banerjee is changing tack ahead of the assembly elections, but by meeting the prime minister in her role as the state head, she certainly drew attention from the Bengal BJP unit.
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Soon after her meeting with the prime minister, Mukul Roy, former TMC leader and now Bengal BJP’s most prominent leader, did not shy away from taking a dig at Banerjee.
While welcoming the meeting, Roy said that the chief minister should also oblige the prime minister when he calls.
“If CM has sought time to meet PM (Modi), he should definitely meet. Similarly, if CM has been called by the PM or HM, she (Mamata Banerjee) should also oblige,” Roy said.
“When Mamata was called to Delhi so many times by the PM and the HM, she didn’t bother to turn up. Now she’s inviting PM, but we welcome this change.”
Nevertheless, the day allowed Banerjee to showcase her achievements as the state’s chief minister and project herself as the primary representative of Bengal without being oppositional. Whether this political civility trickles down to the electoral ground remains to be seen.
