West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her gratitude to senior leaders of the INDIA bloc on Wednesday for backing her as the potential leader of the non-BJP opposition coalition.
Speaking to reporters during her three-day visit to the coastal town of Digha in Purba Medinipur district, Banerjee said she was deeply appreciative of the support shown to her and wished for the well-being of the leaders and the alliance as a whole. “I am indebted to everyone for the respect they have shown to me. I pray for their good health. I want them, as well as their parties, to stay well. I also want INDIA to stay well,” she said.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo declined to comment further on the matter.
Last week, Banerjee voiced her concerns over the functioning of the INDIA bloc, signalling her willingness to take on a leadership role within the coalition if given the opportunity. Several prominent leaders from the alliance, including those from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Samajwadi Party (SP) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), expressed their support for her leadership, suggesting that she should be entrusted with steering the bloc.
“I had formed the INDIA bloc, now it is up to those leading the front to manage it. If they can’t run the show, what can I do? I would just say that everyone needs to be taken along,” Banerjee remarked in an interview with Bengali news channel.
Among those who have endorsed her leadership are NCP chief Sharad Pawar and RJD president Lalu Prasad.
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