BJP MEETING CPM TO DESTABILISE TMC?

In politics, especially in India, there are no permanent friends or foes. Politics is a game of strange bedfellows and there is no change in this old order. Recently, the meeting of BJP MP Raju Bista and party MLA Shankar Ghosh with veteran CPI(M) leader and former mayor of Siliguri Ashok Bhattacharya at his (Bhattacharya’s) house raised eyebrows and the political grapevine was quick to spin a yarn about the reported saffron camp’s plan to rope in the Left leader ahead of the panchayat elections slated for next year. Though both the Left and the BJP leaders described it as a “courtesy visit”, the ruling Trinamool Congress has smelt a conspiracy! However, brushing aside speculations and describing the meeting as a “courtesy visit” by the BJP leaders, Bhattacharya told the media, “If an MP pays a visit on the occasion of Diwali, I cannot shut the door on his face. It was also the death anniversary of my wife and everyone was invited. The speculations that are doing rounds are baseless and unjust.”

Calling it a “courtesy visit”, BJP Darjeeling MP Raju Bista said, “Ashok Bhattacharya is a former minister, MLA and mayor of Siliguri. I came here to extend my Diwali greetings to him. It was also the death anniversary of his wife. Therefore, I wanted to meet him at his residence.” “Our party MP Raju Bista wanted to meet the Left leader to inquire about his health. So, during the auspicious occasion of Diwali, I went with him. It is wrong to draw a conclusion based on this. It is also not right to consider it a political meeting,” said BJP’s Siliguri MLA Shankar Ghosh, who was previously with the CPI(M). The TMC’s mouthpiece ‘Jago Bangla’ on Tuesday published an editorial, mentioning that the BJP’s meeting with Bhattacharya may have serious political connotations. Meanwhile, TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh went on to say, “There is a conspiracy going on to destabilise the government, especially in the northern part of the state. It may be noted that BJP leaders have been demanding a separate state for the people in north Bengal. “We have information that the BJP wants to destabilise the northern part of Bengal and plan to make it a Union Territory with some parts of Bihar. We have said this before and are saying it now that the Left and the BJP are trying to destabilise the state government. They will, of course, say that it was a courtesy visit but we know what is happening. They are seeking Bhattacharya’s support to execute their plans,” alleged Ghosh.

HINDU MAHASABHA TO FIGHT RURAL POLLS?
The Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha announced that it will contest next year’s panchayat elections in West Bengal. The outfit that was relatively unknown in the contemporary political landscape of West Bengal also tried to strike another controversy on Friday by demanding that the photo of Gandhi on currency notes should be replaced with that of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

SUVENDU’S CLAIM
The Trinamool Congress’s rule in West Bengal will be over in a few months, leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari claimed recently, stating that the police cannot save the regime anymore. Addressing a ‘Bijaya Sammilani’ or post-Durga Puja meeting in his hometown Kanthi in Purba Medinipur district, the BJP leader said that his party will fight next year’s panchayat elections “inch by inch”. He said the BJP will form “strong” teams in every booth to counter the TMC’s “terror” in the panchayat polls.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

ROBIN ROY The writer is Senior Journalist and former Managing Editor, First India