Naidu to meet Banerjee in a bid to garner support for an anti-BJP front

chandrababu_naidu Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu | PTI

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu would meet his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee on Monday at her office in Nabanna Secrertariate. The meeting is seen as an attempt by Naidu to bridge the gap between Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and Banerjee.

Banerjee had earlier clarified that she is not averse to the idea of a grand coalition at the national level. She, however, made it clear that such a united front is only possible if Rahul Gandhi agrees to see her as a senior partner as she has more political experience than the Congress chief.

Ahead of Naidu's meeting with the Banerjee in Kolkata, there were banners demanding Banerjee as the next prime minister. The banners, which bear the name of a social organisation in Kolkata state, “We want a Bengali prime minister now.” Although the Trinamool Congress party denied that there is a move to project her as the prime ministerial candidate, the party flag surrounding the banners suggests that the party has a role in the demand.

Naidu, howver, would not like to be dragged into such a controversy as he is aware that if the issue of a prime ministerial candidates hots up, the future prospects of a grand alliance would be adversely affected.

Naidu would perhaps play the same role he had played 22 years ago when he cobbled up the first united front government in 1996 against the BJP. He then did something unimaginable by convincing the former West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu to accept Congress as an alliance partner. However, he broke away from the united front which he helped form and joined hands with Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA in 1999.

Naidu again began playing the role of a mediator when he met DMK president M.K. Stalin and Karnataka Chief Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy to discuss the possibility of a national-level alliance. While these meetings did not pose much of a challenge to Naidu, meeting Banerjee and BSP chief Mayawati to discuss a possible alliance would be a tough task.

Banerjee would be hesitant to accept Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate. Both the West Bengal chief minister and Mayavati would find it hard to accept the Congress playing a leading role in the coalition. In fact, most of the regional leaders would like to have a non-Congress, non-BJP candidate as the next prime minister. They argue that by doing so, the Congress could be able to achieve its prime target—remove the BJP from power.

Security has been beefed up in the road that leads to Nabanna, on the outskirt of Kolkata, just on the bank of Hooghly river, ahead of the visit. Naidu is all set to get a grand reception at the state secretariat which even his counterpart in Telengana, K. Chandrasekhar Rao, was not accorded. Interestingly, it was Rao who attempted to bring all anti-BJP and anti-Congress parties under one umbrella for which he came to Kolkata and met Banerjee in 2017. However, in a sudden twist, he is now currying favour with the BJP.

"That is the irony of the third front. Their compulsion at the state level forced them to make somersault. There would be no formation against Modi unless it is led by the Congress. Only a strong Rahul Gandhi could defeat Modi," said a senior Congress leader in West Bengal.