Kirti Azad was a member of the cricket team that won the 1983 World Cup (File)
New Delhi:
Parliament Leader Kirti Azad is expected to take part in the Trinamool Congress this evening, which will be a significant move – Bengali Premier Mamata Banerjee’s first foray into Bihar politics.
Kirti Azad, a member of India’s 1983 World Cricket Championships, is a three-time Lok Sabha MP from Darbhanga of Bihar. He previously joined the BJP, but was suspended after publicly targeting then Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for alleged corruption in the Delhi cricket association.
In addition to Mr Azad, Trinamool is also expected to welcome former Parliament leader Ashok Tanwar, who quit the party in 2019 – just two weeks before the Haryana Council elections.
Mr Tanwar, who was sacked as head of the state unit shortly before he left Parliament – stated in a letter to Sonia Gandhi that the party was “going through an existential crisis … because of conflict serious internal conflict”. In February, he launched his own party – Apna Bharat Morcha.
Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Secretary General Abhishek Banerjee, her grandson, are both in Delhi this week, as the party is seen by many as the most likely challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP in the 2024 general election in preparation for the winter session of Parliament.
Poll strategist Prashant Kishor – whose I-PAC helped Ms. Banerjee score a claim to victory over the BJP in the April-May elections in Bengal – was also present at his residence. Chief Minister of Delhi.
Mr. Kishor’s I-PAC is also working with Trinamool ahead of the elections in Tripura in 2023.
Ms. Banerjee will be in Delhi until Thursday, and is expected to meet opposition leaders to map out the strategy for implementing the BJP during the winter session of Parliament, which begins next week.
Much of the focus in this session will likely be on the repeal of the controversial farm laws, which Prime Minister Modi said last week would be repealed. Passed last year, the law sparked a nationwide outcry from farmers – protests supported by opposition parties including Trinamool.
She may also meet Prime Minister Modi; The two sides are expected to discuss issues such as outstanding fees to the Bengali government and the center’s controversial rise to BSF jurisdiction.
After Trinamool’s strong victory in the Bengali elections, Ms. Banerjee emerged as an impetus to call on the opposition to unite against the BJP. She has also emerged as one of the more likely prime ministerial candidates, although Ms Banerjee was quick to dismiss this.
Since then, Trinamool has been testing the waters outside Bengal, with Abhishek Banerjee in Tripura (vote in 2023) and Campaign Minister in Goa (vote in 2022).
Among the Bengali chief’s calls to unify the opposition was a speech to top opposition leaders ahead of her visit to Delhi in July.
That speech was attended by P Chidambaram of Parliament, NCP Sharad Pawar, Priyanka Chaturvedi of Shiv Sena and Ram Gopal Yadav of Samajwadi Party, among other leaders.
Ms. Banerjee also met with Speaker of the National Assembly Sonia Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi was also present in those talks, which was then seen as significant as the two sides seek common ground ahead of the 2024 poll.
However, any meeting with Parliament during this visit will come after the two parties battled in the Bengal elections on opposing sides, with Parliament failing to heed the call for unification of the country. Mrs. Banerjee.
With input from PTI
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