What is UPA? There is no UPA, Mamata Banerjee after meeting with Sharad Pawar
Mumbai: There is no United Progressive Alliance (UPA) now, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday after her meeting with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar in Mumbai.
"What is UPA? There is no UPA," Banerjee, the chief of the Trinamool Congress who's on a three-day visit to Mumbai, said after a meeting with Sharad Pawar.
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On his part, Pawar made a fresh pitch for the unity of opposition parties to fight the the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
"All those opposed to the BJP are welcome to join us. There is no question of excluding anyone," Pawar told mediapersons when asked if an alliance without the Congress was on the cards.
"We discussed the prevailing situation and the need for all like-minded parties to come together and provide a strong alternative to the BJP," the NCP chief said. "Leadership is not an issue at this point. We need to work together against the BJP," he added.
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Banerjee's statement is significant given her own pronounced attempts to breach regional boundaries. It’s also particularly significant given that Pawar’s NCP is part of a triumvirate that makes up the Maha Vikas Aghadi government along with Congress and the Shiv Sena.
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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee meets Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar in Mumbai. Social media[/caption]
Incidentally, both Banerjee and Pawar have their political roots in the Congress party. Banerjee left the Congress to form the TMC in 1997, and Sharad Pawar left it to form the NCP in 1999.
“If all regional parties come together, it would be easy to defeat the BJP,” Banerjee said while interacting with some civil society members here.
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"We want to say BJP hatao, desh bachao," she said, adding that her party Trinamool Congress (TMC) will not contest the forthcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.
-PTC News wit agency inputs
