In yet another shocker, Assam Congress leader Sushmita Dev quit the Congress and joined the Trinamool. Naba Kumar Sarania, an independent MP from Kokarajhar in Assam, as per sources, also held several meetings with the Trinamool. Sarania told the Trinamool top leadership that he and his party wanted an anti-BJP fight in Assam by allying with the Trinamool, not joining directly, a source said.
Meanwhile as Abhishek Banerjee has become the All India General Secretary of the Trinamool Congress, shortly after taking office, he set about building organizations in the northeastern states of Tripura and Assam. TMC, ahead of the polls, wants to tackle the BJP juggernaut by organizing a strong and united oppositional front.
Nevertheless, Trinamool is already making its mark in Tripura through various programmes. In the midst of all this, Assam MP Naba Kumar Sarania was offered to join the party.
At first, the proposal came from the TC of Assam. Later, during the parliamentary session, Sarania had a meeting with several Trinamool MPs in Delhi, including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee.
In Assam, the party led by Sarania is called Gana Suraksha Party or GSP. The organisational strength and mass base of GSP in Kokrajhar and surrounding areas are quite good. Sources said that after talking to his organisation, Sarania told the Trinamool that after thinking about the equation of local politics in Assam, they felt that it was better to ally with the Trinamool without joining the latter directly. Sarania has told the Trinamool Congress that he will form an alliance with them in the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
Sarania thinks that if an alliance is formed with the Trinamool in Assam, the result will be good, a party source said. Mamata Banerjee’s popularity in the Assam would add a cherry to the cake. Besides, the strength of Mamata’s party has increased as former Silchar MP Sushmita has joined the Trinamool. Sarania thinks it is possible to give impetus to the alliance if the Bengalis can combine these sentiments with the local politics of Assam.