New Delhi, Nov. 8: Narendra Modi today hailed Mamata Banerjee as a “fighter” for the rights of Bengal’s people, prompting BJP sources to suggest he was eyeing a post-poll friendship next year though the Trinamul chief has rebuffed him in the recent past.

“Mamatadidi fights with Delhi for Bengal, for the rights of the people of Bengal,” the Gujarat chief minister told a rally in Uttar Pradesh, drawing a contrast with the allegedly selfish agendas pursued by the heartland state’s principal regional parties.

Modi has often reached out to Mamata in the past. When he won Gujarat a third time last December, he had invited her to his swearing-in along with AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa. But the Trinamul chief declined the invite.

Her party had let on that the reason was purely political: a sight of Mamata in Modi’s company would endanger its Muslim votes.

BJP sources claimed Modi was peeved with Mamata for “publicising” her reasons for turning down his invite. He has, however, refused to give up on the Bengal chief minister.

Party sources said it was “uncharacteristic” of Modi to be “indulgent” towards a leader who kept rebuffing him.

Mamata had served another putdown last April when Modi visited Calcutta to meet industrialists and state BJP workers.

The Bengal BJP was denied permission to host a reception for the Gujarat chief minister at the government-run Netaji Indoor Stadium. The official reason was that bookings were not available on that date.

Still, Modi batted for Mamata at his interaction with industry leaders in her city. He said she was in for a long haul because she was “busy filling the potholes created over 32 years by the Left”.

Modi demanded the Centre stop “discriminating” against Bengal because that would “crush the aspirations of its people”. But he did not seek an appointment with Mamata.

BJP sources said Modi’s latest Mamata outreach was spurred by certain political factors. One, like him, she has “grouses” against the UPA.

Two, Modi is convinced that his pitch for more power to the states and a less “interventionist” Centre would eventually pull the regional parties towards him.

Three, Mamata is now “unattached” and will not join any third front that includes the Left.

The sources, however, conceded that since Mamata needed to keep her huge bank of Muslim votes intact, the BJP and Modi could at best think of a post-poll “understanding” with Trinamul and not a committed engagement.

Modi told the rally that Mamata was concerned only about her “people”, unlike the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

“The Samajwadis and the BSP support the Centre. They know the central government cannot survive without them. If they want, can they not make the Centre bend? If they ask for railway connections, it will be given. But they will not ask,” he said.

“The Samajwadis and the BSP ask for help in CBI cases because they are worried about their families. They only want to save their seats of power.”

Modi lumped the Congress, Samajwadis and the BSP together because their “gotra (lineage), DNA and character are one”.

In August, Modi had made open overtures to the Telugu Desam Party and its president, N. Chandrababu Naidu, at a Hyderabad rally.

He had recalled Naidu’s father-in-law N.T. Rama Rao’s dedication to “genuine federalism” and how he had taken the Congress on in the 1980s at the risk of “sacrificing” his government.

Pressured by his party colleagues, Naidu signalled he was open to doing business with Modi.