Faction Within INDI? Mamata To Visit Punjab To Meet Arvind Kejriwal, Bhagwant Mann

Lok Sabha Elections 2024: West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee will meet Delhi CM and Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann this month, said sources. This comes as a major blow to the Congress party which is already struggling to keep the Opposition's rainbow coalition, stitched to take on the BJP in the upcoming elections- INDI alliance together. 

Mamata Banerjee will visit Punjab February 21 and meet her Delhi and Punjab counterparts, Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann, reports said. The Trinamool Congress supremo is expected to offer prayers at the Golden Temple also. 

"The chief minister is likely to visit Punjab on February 21. During her visit, she will offer prayers at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. There is a high possibility of her meeting, Delhi Chief Minister and Punjab Chief Minister during this visit," said a senior official to PTI. 

What Mamata's Meeting Indicates? 

Mamata Banerjee’s meeting with the top leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is considered crucial in the backdrop of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections and the formation of an opposition coalition as both Banerjee's Trinamool Congress and AAP have declared to go solo in the upcoming parliamentary elections. 

Both Mamata Banerjee and Bhagwant Mann announced that they would contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in alliance with Congress party. Further AAP MP Sandeep Pathak claimed that the party was “tired of talking” as it independently announced candidates from Assam for Lok Sabha polls. Earlier this month, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak announced the names of the three candidates - Manoj Dhanohar from Dibrugarh, Bhaven Chaudhary from Guwahati and Rishi Raj from Sonitpur.

Farmers Protest 

The possible visit of West Bengal chief minister to Punjab comes at a time when farmers are demanding minimum support price for their crops. Farmers of the state have been camping at the borders of the national capital pressing the centre to agree to agree to their demands. 

Banerjee has already extended her support to the farmers and condemned the attack on protesting farmers when they were trying to march to New Delhi. 


(With PTI inputs)