New Delhi : With West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee camping in the capital over the last few days her visit provided an opportunity for a get together of non-Congress and non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders for a tea party at the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar’s residence.
This occasion was seen as a continuation of Banerjee’s exchanges with leaders from all political parties. She has had a dinner meeting with the Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and a lot of Congress leaders including Sonia Gandhi, Ghulam Nabi Azad met her when she visited the central hall of the parliament..
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, Janata Dal (United) chief Sharad Yadav, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah, NCP leader Tariq Anwar and TMC leader Derek O”Brien were among those who attended the party.
However, beyond the personal bonhomie these meetings have not much of a political significance as the influences of these parties are confined to their regions. Even on key issues they take their own positions, for instance the TMC is with the BJP government on GST bill, but is opposed to the Land Bill. However, such interactions are expected to be more frequent especially in the context of the Bihar state assembly elections where the Congress is a minor partner in the overall alliance between the RJD and JD(U).
