What is UPA? There is no UPA says Mamata Banerjee

Mumbai: Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee – seen as making a beeline for the political space occupied by the Congress – indicated that she is visualising a fresh Opposition line-up for the next general election. And this, she made it clear, is being done because "nobody is fighting against the ongoing fascism".

"What is UPA? There is no UPA," Banerjee said after her meeting with Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai on Wednesday. Pawar, who was a key interlocutor of the Opposition ahead of the 2019 contest, spelled it out: "Template for 2024". "A firm alternative course should be made as nobody is fighting against ongoing fascism.

Sharad ji is the senior-most leader and I came to discuss the political situation. I agree with whatever Sharad ji said. There is no UPA," said Banerjee, who has been catapulted onto the national stage since her mega victory against the BJP in the April-May Assembly elections in Bengal.

The West Bengal Chief Minister said it was important to fight the BJP. Otherwise, they will 'bowl you out'. "I want to see BJP out of this country politically... If all regional parties are together, then it will be easy to defeat the BJP. I had to move out from Bengal even though things are good in the State so that others also move out and there is competition," Mamata Banerjee said.

Many believe that Banerjee now will be pitched as the face of the Opposition. The perception is reinforced by her efforts to make Trinamool Congress the next big national party after the Congress, with a steady stream of incoming leaders giving it a foothold in multiple states -- Goa, Meghalaya, Bihar and Haryana.

While Banerjee did not name whom she blames for not "fighting against ongoing fascism", her drift was clear. Most of the new entrants in her party have been from the Congress. In Delhi last week, Mamata Banerjee gave an open invitation to any leader who wanted to join Trinamool in its battle against the BJP. She also flared up when asked about a possible meeting with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, questioning if it was 'mandatory'.

Later in the evening, Pawar tweeted photos of their meeting, commenting that they had "agreed upon the need to strengthen the collective efforts and commitment towards safeguarding democratic values".

In the evening, Mamata Banerjee met Shiv Sena's Aaditya Thackeray and Sanjay Raut. Her meeting with Uddhav Thackeray did not take place as the Chief Minister is in isolation after a surgery.