New Delhi, May 19: West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress president, Mamata Banerjee, has decided not to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka Chief Minister-designate Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar on Saturday. In her place, Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member, Dr. Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, will represent the party at the event, according to Derek O’Brien, the party’s leader in the Rajya Sabha.
This development is seen by political observers as another sign of the growing distance between Mamata Banerjee and the Congress party, despite the latter’s significant victory in the Karnataka elections. Interestingly, after the Karnataka election results were announced, Mamata Banerjee congratulated the people for their verdict but remained silent on the Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi, even when questioned by the media.
Mamata Banerjee later stated that she is willing to extend conditional support to the Congress in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, on the condition that the Congress reciprocates the same support to the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal. However, the state Congress president in West Bengal and veteran Lok Sabha member, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, rejected her offer, emphasizing that there is no possibility of any understanding with the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal.
Regarding the invitation extended to Mamata Banerjee for Siddaramaiah’s swearing-in ceremony, Chowdhury explained that it is a matter of courtesy to invite the chief ministers of all non-BJP ruled states and leaders of non-BJP forces in the country. He clarified that this does not imply a political understanding between the Congress and the Trinamool Congress in the context of upcoming elections.
