Aamchi Mumbai

Didi finished her trip to Delhi a few days ago, soon visiting Mumbai, India’s financial capital. She visited Siddhi Vinayak Temple to offer her prayers but did not repeat her customary visit to any mosques to balance her visit as she often does in Bengal.  Later she held a meeting with activists and civil society members.

The activists consisted of the Narmada Andolan famous Medha Patkar and the civil society members, led by lyricist Javed Akhtar. Save, patting each other’s back, these meetings are more moralistic fulfilment alone. The Y.B. Chavan hall itself was below her stature, and it seems she is being de-marketed by her strategist. As a vanquisher of the BJP, she deserved a greater auditorium and a larger audience.

Uddhav Thackeray missed meeting her, supposedly recovering from surgery. Grown into disbelieving most of the government bytes, I force myself to believe this for the sake of our Didi. A greenhorn Aditya and a rabble-rouser Raut came and met her. I’m glad that she did not visit them, as she once rushed to see off Shah Rukh Khan at Kolkata Airport, breaking all the protocols.

The highlight of the visit was her meeting with Sharad Pawar, Praful Patel and the multi-party person Sanjay Nirupam, now with the NCP. On Mamata’s side was Abhishek Banerjee. After the meeting was over, Mamata gave an impromptu press brief and gravely erred in saying, “Where is UPA? UPA is finished.” Certainly, the Gandhis were least amused, and the INC distanced further from Didi, a political misstep for the latter.

The second misstep, which she has become an unwitting victim, is the inability to officially state that she would lead the anti-BJP front, though a few leaders from her party have stated so. She said something relevant, but opposite, “The CM will be chosen, depending on the outcome of the 2024 polls in the States and the decision of the constituent parties.” Even for a small KMC election scheduled a fortnight from now, the whisper already has emanated that it will be Firhad Hakim who will again be the mayor. The Lok Sabha elections must decide a PM face, but a wily Pawar may not yield without a steep cut in the interest of his party.

Mamata di has urged all the opposition parties to come together, which is easier than done. Parties are formed, with the primary objective of winning and running governments but with specific ideologies, which will conflict and never converge. A far-right Shiv Sena combine with the Congress party and the NCP nevertheless proves that parties may keep aside their party manifestoes to edge the BJP out.  BJP’s difficult primary task of breaking the Congress party has been made easier by Mamata Banerjee.

Delhi and Mumbai are right now not even a storm in a teacup. I decided to pass her meeting with the industrialists in Mumbai for obvious reasons.

Sampath Kumar

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