Trinamool Congress fails to unite opposition

KOLKATA: The Mamata Banerjee-led Bengal government is on the back foot over Gorkha rebellion in the Darjeeling hills. Also, communal clashes in the state have queered the pitch for her at home.

Even her anti-Modi rhetoric, which gave her a footing in national politics, has lost some of its sting, and she is no longer her usual emotional self at rallies and public meetings.

"There’s no doubt about Banerjee’s presence in national politics. She is trying to take advantage of the disarray in Congress, Samajwadi Party and in Bihar’s maha gathbandhan. But Darjeeling has unsettled her. And violence has erupted in other places as well. She now considers BJP as its fiercest opponent. This perhaps has forced her to team up with CPM in some quarters. While she wants to consolidate her position by making national moves, most of them have however failed," said Swapan Dasgupta, BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP, and a political commentator.

Banerjee had been trying hard to forge an Opposition unity, which didn’t travel much, especially after the emphatic win for the BJP in the UP Assembly polls.