Calcutta, May 5: Before she could destroy the CPM, Mamata Banerjee has ensured that she has more or less pulled down the Congress in Bengal. The massive switch of Congress votes to the Trinamul Congress has shown this in the past few years.

But in a strange turn of events, this was symbolised at a media briefing today by Mamata being flanked by Somen Mitra and Subrata Mukherjee, the two stalwarts of the Congress — for Mamata, the “CPM’s B-team” — whom she had earlier described as “CPM agents”.

For Mamata, Mukherjee, who appears to have mastered the art of conveniently switching sides, was the original “water melon” — Congress on the outside but a red Marxist inside. She had accused him of working for the CPM while being with the Congress.

Mitra, Mamata’s original adversary in the state Congress, had been described by her as the leader of the CPM’s “B-team” who had rigged the elections to defeat her in the polls for state party president in 1991.

But at the media briefing to announce Mukherjee’s return to her party as senior vice-president, Mamata was all praise for his “organisational qualities”.

“We are indeed happy over his return to Trinamul. Our party workers will be energised following his switch from the Congress,” the Trinamul Congress chief said. “He ran the Calcutta Municipal Corporation very effectively.”

So, will he be Mamata’s mayor once again if her party comes to power in Calcutta?

The Trinamul chief refused to answer.

Instead, she said: “While the negotiations with the Congress were going on to firm up the alliance in Calcutta, I was under the impression that a proposal would come from the Congress to pick Subratada as a mayoral candidate. But instead of making any such proposal, the Congress broke the alliance, forcing Subratada to join us.”

Mukherjee declared: “I joined Trinamul without any pre-conditions.”

He accused the Congress of acting at the CPM’s behest. “Today, I’m quitting all party posts in the Congress and even its primary membership to join Mamata Banerjee. I took the decision as a last resort to protest the state Congress leaders’ well-designed plan to break up the alliance with Trinamul at the CPM’s behest.”

State Congress working president Pradip Bhattacharya said that the failure of the alliance was an excuse for Subrata to switch sides.

No matter how happy Mamata appeared to be at Mukherjee’s return, sections within Trinamul have still not forgotten his “betrayal” before the last civic polls.

“He exemplifies opportunism,” said a Trinamul leader. “I cannot remember any leader of his stature switching sides as many times as he has done. We don’t know what his next move may be. Maybe, he will switch sides again when he sees better prospects in another party.”

With the alliance behind her, Mamata trained her guns on the Congress and said people would give the party a “fitting reply” for not fulfilling their aspirations of a “grand alliance” to oust the CPM from Bengal.

“The people of Bengal want a grand alliance of anti-Left forces to put an end to the CPM’s misrule of over 32 years. But the Congress has betrayed them by not working out such an alliance to help the CPM continue in power. They will get a fitting reply in the elections.”

Mamata recounted that like Mitra and Mukherjee, she had been with the Congress once. “We were all with the Congress (once). But we left because the party had failed to fight the CPM. Today, the Congress and the CPM are one,” Mamata said.

However, she is apparently not equating still her terms with the Congress in Bengal and the Congress in Delhi. “We had given a commitment that we would be with the UPA after the elections and we have kept it. We are still a part and parcel of UPA and it is not the Congress’s alone. It is a coali-tion of like-minded parties,” Mamata said.