Aspirations may mar grand pact

New Delhi: The concept of a grand alliance by “secular outfits” led by the Congress against the Narendra Modi-led BJP may not be able to take shape due to inner contradictions, turf wars and a clash of ideologies.

The Left parties led by the CPM on Wednesday virtually snubbed Trinamul chief Mamata Banerjee’s signal to them that a joint fight could be put up against the BJP in West Bengal.

In 2016, when the state is due to hold Assembly elections, there could be a “friendly electoral contest” between the Cong-ress and the Left parties.

While the Left rejected the Trinamul overtures, the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party also rebuffed the Samajwadi Party’s efforts to forge unity against the BJP in Uttar Pradesh.

Bihar so far is the only state where top regional satraps like JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav have joined forces to fight against the BJP.

Ms Banerjee, who is facing a stiff challenge from the BJP in West Bengal, had on Tuesday met senior leader L.K. Advani and Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley to complain about the saffron forces’ “aggressive stance” in her state, sources revealed. With the Left and the Congress decimated there, the BJP is rapidly growing as a major player in the state.

With the saffron top brass not coming to Ms Banerjee’s aid, she tried to send a signal to both the Left and the Congress to jointly fight against the “forces of communalism”. Senior CPM leader Sitaram Yechury gave a clear indication that the Left was in no mood to back what they called Trinamul’s “politics of opportunism”.