 "Hazare, crowd ditch Mamata")
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday addressed mostly empty chairs at Delhi’s Ramlila Ground, with social activist Anna Hazare choosing not to join her, citing ill health.
The public meeting was to launch Banerjee and her party’s national campaign with Hazare’s blessings. However, Hazare ditched her at the last moment; his spokesperson claimed the social activist, who landed in Delhi on Tuesday, was suffering from ‘congestion’. Banerjee’s polyglot skills – she spoke in several languages – were also wasted on the barely 1,000-odd people who had gathered at Ramlila Maidan.
Sources in the Trinamool Congress (TMC) said the party brought as many as 1,800 supporters from West Bengal. Of these, the ones who did turn up also left as soon as it was evident by late afternoon that the meeting was a huge flop.
Banerjee claimed the event wasn’t a political meeting. “It was a social meeting. I was invited. I made the commitment to come here and I came,” said she, adding that was the reason why the Ramlila Maidan did not have many TMC flags and banners. However, Banerjee didn’t say a word against Hazare, stating she respected him and his “desire”.
Sources in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said Hazare’s failure to turn up was a matter of some relief for them. The AAP feared that TMC fielding candidates with the blessings of Hazare might cut into its potential voter base. Sources also say the AAP leadership was deeply worried about Hazare’s sharing stage with Banerjee. It feared the TMC candidates that Banerjee plans to field across India could eat into its votes. According to sources, many well-wishers of AAP, as well as Hazare, had in the past few days reached out to the septuagenarian social activist to rethink his public support to Banerjee.
They reminded Hazare that the social activist had in end-2012 refused to have anything to do with AAP as he disagreed with their decision to enter electoral politics. This, say sources, had an impact on Hazare who had already requested TMC they shouldn’t use his photograph on their election-related literature. That few turned up for the rally further convinced Hazare to skip the meeting, citing ill-health.
“The Mamata-Anna alliance is all but over,” said a source.
The public meeting was to launch Banerjee and her party’s national campaign with Hazare’s blessings. However, Hazare ditched her at the last moment; his spokesperson claimed the social activist, who landed in Delhi on Tuesday, was suffering from ‘congestion’. Banerjee’s polyglot skills – she spoke in several languages – were also wasted on the barely 1,000-odd people who had gathered at Ramlila Maidan.
Sources in the Trinamool Congress (TMC) said the party brought as many as 1,800 supporters from West Bengal. Of these, the ones who did turn up also left as soon as it was evident by late afternoon that the meeting was a huge flop.
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Banerjee later claimed it was Hazare’s supporters who had organised the meeting. “It was their rally, not our rally. They invited us and I came on their invitation,” she said.
Banerjee claimed the event wasn’t a political meeting. “It was a social meeting. I was invited. I made the commitment to come here and I came,” said she, adding that was the reason why the Ramlila Maidan did not have many TMC flags and banners. However, Banerjee didn’t say a word against Hazare, stating she respected him and his “desire”.
Sources in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said Hazare’s failure to turn up was a matter of some relief for them. The AAP feared that TMC fielding candidates with the blessings of Hazare might cut into its potential voter base. Sources also say the AAP leadership was deeply worried about Hazare’s sharing stage with Banerjee. It feared the TMC candidates that Banerjee plans to field across India could eat into its votes. According to sources, many well-wishers of AAP, as well as Hazare, had in the past few days reached out to the septuagenarian social activist to rethink his public support to Banerjee.
They reminded Hazare that the social activist had in end-2012 refused to have anything to do with AAP as he disagreed with their decision to enter electoral politics. This, say sources, had an impact on Hazare who had already requested TMC they shouldn’t use his photograph on their election-related literature. That few turned up for the rally further convinced Hazare to skip the meeting, citing ill-health.
“The Mamata-Anna alliance is all but over,” said a source.