Rahul's unwillingness for alliance led to Tripura result: Mamata Banerjee

Downplaying the BJP's victory in Tripura, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said the saffron party will never win West Bengal and Odisha, and dubbed it as "a cockroach dreaming of becoming a peacock by putting on its feathers".

She said the result in Tripura was due to CPI-M's "surrender" and the "failure" of the Congress to agree to an alliance.

The result could have been different had Rahul Gandhi agreed to an alliance with the Trinamool Congress and local hill parties, she said and claimed the poll results will not help the BJP in the upcoming assembly elections in several states.

"There is nothing to rejoice in the win in a state having only about 26 lakh voters and two parliamentary seats with a difference of about only five per cent votes," Banerjee said reacting to BJP's win in Tripura ending the 25 year-long Left regime there.

"The CPI-M has done well in the poll. It is a difference of about five per cent votes only. But the CPI(M) in Tripura had never shown any seriousness to resist the saffron party in that state.

I don't know why. We need to analyse this," Banerjee said.

Despite the BJP's success in Tripura, "it will not be possible at all to get through in West Bengal and Odisha. BJP will concede defeat in Karnataka, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. In Gujarat it was a moral defeat for them," she said.

The 2019 Lok Sabha election would be a disaster for the saffron party and the party would fail to retain power, she claimed.

On BJP targeting West Bengal and Odisha, Banerjee said "sometimes a cockroach also wants to be a peacock and put on its feathers".

"It will never happen and would forever remain a dream," she said.

The Trinamool Congress chief said the BJP got 50 per cent votes while, CPI-M got 45 per cent. It was a difference of about five per cent only.

"Had Rahul Gandhi accepted my proposal for an alliance among the Congress, the TMC and local hill parties, the situation would have been different in Tripura," she said.
"I had even recommended sharing of seats - Congress in 30 seats, TMC 14 and hill parties in 16 seats. But the Congress leadership turned down my offer and now you can see the results.

"The Congress has got just about 1.5 per cent votes, which is a matter of shame," she said.

Banerjee wondered why the CPI-M "surrendered" before the BJP. "Was it in fear of being blackmailed and harassed by the central agencies?" she asked.

Banerjee also alleged that the BJP has used money power as well as the Central forces to win the elections.

PTI