Mitra and Mukherjee: Heated exchange?

Calcutta, June 30: The Congress brass today asked Somen Mitra why he had called on Mamata Banerjee to discuss a possible alliance for the Lok Sabha elections.

The party was taken by surprise when Mitra went to meet the Trinamul Congress leader on his “own initiative” on Friday evening.

At an hour-long one-to-one, Pranab Mukherjee apparently snubbed Mitra and asked him not to push forward his alliance agenda.

Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel and Mohsina Kidwai, the party general secretary in charge of Bengal, called up Mitra from Delhi to ask why he had met Mamata keeping the leadership in the dark, said a state Congress leader.

“Pranabda took strong exception to Somen’s move to knock on Mamata’s doors for floating an anti-CPM platform in Bengal at a time the Congress is locked in a standoff with the Left over the Indo-US nuclear deal,” one of Mukherjee’s aides said after the meeting.

Asked if he was pulled up, a grim-faced Mitra averted a direct answer. “I explained everything to Pranabda but will not share the contents of the discussion with you,” he said before leaving the foreign minister’s Dhakuria home.

Asked whether he would attend Mamata’s “martyrs’ day” programme on July 21, Mitra said he would take a call if he was invited.

Mukherjee, who refused to divulge the details of his talks with Mitra, had met party leaders Pradip Bhattacharya and Manas Bhuniya last night for a feel of the fallout of the Somen-Mamata meeting.

In Delhi, state party chief Priya Ranjan Das Munshi slammed Mitra’s “unilateral decision to open a dialogue” with the Trinamul leader.

“Whenever I am in Calcutta, I take Somen into confidence before taking any major decision. I have also time and again stressed the need to collaborate with Mamata. Why did then Somen call on Mamata on his own three days before the municipal polls (in 13 places) and want to join forces with her?” he asked, adding: “It was not expected from a senior leader like him.”

Mamata had dubbed the meeting with Mitra a “turning point” in Bengal politics.

Das Munshi said he would meet Mitra when he arrives in Calcutta tomorrow.

Congress leaders who were once known to be close to Mitra have so far refused to rally behind him over a pact with Mamata. “Chhorda’s (Mitra is called by that name in party circles) move will weaken the organisation and send a wrong signal to our grassroots workers before the Lok Sabha elections,” a party functionary from South 24-Parganas said.

Mitra’s detractors said the former state party chief was eyeing the Calcutta North parliamentary seat. Mamata could offer it to Mitra if the ailing Ajit Panja, who is now in the US for treatment, has to be replaced.

Mitra’s Sealdah Assembly seat will cease to exist as it would merge with Manicktala, a CPM stronghold.

State chief electoral officer Debashis Sen said Calcutta will have two parliamentary seats —South and North — after the delimitation of constituencies.

Asked about Mitra’s possible nomination by Mamata, Das Munshi said he “would be happy if that turned out to be true”.