Describing Trinamool Congress as the B team of the Bharatiya Janata Party, senior Congress functionary and leader of opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Abdul Mannan says both Trinamool and BJP have the "common hidden agenda" of crushing his party.
"Both Trinamool and BJP have a common hidden agenda, to finish the Congress, to crush the Congress. Trinamool in this regard is working as an agent of BJP, the B team of the BJP," Mannan told IANS.
With the BJP carrying out an aggressive campaign in the state with its leaders publicly claiming that they would come up with a sizeable number of seats to challenge the Trinamool, Mannan said the two parties are actually playing a game'.
"They are trying to marginalise the CPI-M and the Congress. They only want the BJP and Trinamool to remain as political forces. This is the hidden agenda of the two parties.
"See the behaviour of the Election Commission. At times it is backing the BJP, and times it is supporting the Trinamool. The elections have not been free and fair," said Mannan.
He said while the Congress was fighting the BJP at the national level, "it was unfortunate" that in Bengal it also has to combat the Trinamool aautocracy'.
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"If somebody wants to chose between the two, both are worst. So we are having to fight both. But we are having to fight singlehandedly. The BJP's rise is because of Trinamool Congress, because of the way the Trinamool has tried to finish the Congress.
"Had Trinamool not weakened the Congress by causing defections from it through inducements or by filing false cases, the BJP would not have come up," he said.
However, Mannan was convinced that the BJP would fizzle out in the state if it fails to form government at the Centre.
Asked what would be the scenario if the BJP-led NDA returns to power, he said: "Then we have to rethink our strategy. But the good thing in Bengal is anti-communalism is deeply ingrained in the minds of the people".
Mannan evaded a question about Congress' likely allies in the state in future.
"An alliance is not determined by any metric system. It is decided by the practical situation," he said.
The Congress, which had got four of the 42 seats from the state in the previous Lok Sabha polls, would do "better than last time", he said.
"We will win 6-7 seats. But I won't name them right now, because then our fight in the other seats will weaken".
The Congress and the Left Front had tried to enter into a seat adjustment for the polls, but the talks failed.
"Had the Left-Congress alliance materialised, we could have put the BJP under very serious challenge. The fight theyn would have been between the Trinamool and the Left-Congress alliance."
"Had the alliance been formed, it would have won 14-15 seats. It would have caused big upsets," he said.
According to Mannan, the course of politics in West Bengal post-2019 polls cannot be gauged now.
"It depends on lot of iffs. if the Congress wins an absolute majority in Delhi, then there will be certain scenario. BJP government will go, and Congress will come back to power, there is no doubt in that. But the Congress numbers will be important.
"If we have to depend on Trinamool, then the scenario will be something else," he added.
--IANS
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