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The decision of the Trinamul Congress to end its honeymoon with the National Democratic Alliance following the expose by tehelka.com of corruption in defence deals has brightened the prospects of an electoral alliance between the Congress and Mamata Banerjee's party.
The Congress camp in West Bengal has suddenly become rejuvenated with the pro and anti-mahajot factions mending fences.
Speaking to rediff.com, West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee chief Pranab Mukherjee heaped praise on his former colleague, calling her decision to part ways with the NDA a 'positive development'.
Mukherjee felt that the NDA was beginning to show cracks, and hoped that other parties too would leave the Bharatiya Janata Party's bandwagon in the coming days.
On the mahajot, Mukherjee said much would depend on the All-India Congress Committee's plenary session to be held in Bangalore from March 17.
He pointed out that his party had always maintained that Banerjee should sever ties with the saffron brigade to form an alliance with the secular and democratic anti-Left forces in Bengal.
"Now we have to start the entire process afresh. It doesn't matter who takes the initiative. We have always been forthcoming about entering into an electoral alliance with Mamata without the BJP. It, however, remains to be seen whether she will fight the elections with us," Mukherjee added.
Banerjee's withdrawal from the NDA has changed the political equations in Bengal. Not so long ago, the Trinamul Congress had declared its candidates list for the West Bengal assembly elections, giving 39 seats to the BJP and eight to the Samata Party.
Political observers feel that Banerjee may accept the Congress's earlier offer to jointly fight the assembly elections.
Understandably, no Trinamul leader is in a position to speak on the issue in the absence of any directive from the party supremo.
Sources within the Congress told rediff.com that the pro-mahajot faction - Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi and A B A Ghani Khan Chowdhury - had already held telephonic talks with Mukherjee to initiate fresh talks on joining hands with Mamata.
Mukherjee hoped that the Congress high command would give its nod for aligning with Mamata considering the changed circumstances.
PTI adds: Congress on Thursday welcomed Mamata's decision to disassociate the Trinamul Congress from the NDA, but said it was an expected development.
"We welcome Mamata's decision, which was expected. We congratulate her," Congress spokesperson Margaret Alva told reporters at the venue of the Congress' plenary session in Bangalore.
She declined to comment on whether Trinamul Congress' decision would precipitate the fall of the Vajpayee government, but said the NDA partners should now 'do some soul-searching'.
Asked if the Congress was in touch with any NDA partner, she said, "In Delhi, everybody is in touch with everybody else."
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