Sure that Mamata Banerjee won't join us: Narendra Modi

Kolkata: BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, on Tuesday, said he was sure that Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee would not join the NDA. Mr Modi also said that "more than anger against her", he was disappointed that Ms Banerjee had "failed" to bring West Bengal out of the "mess" created by 34-year-long Left Front rule. (Elections: full coverage)

"We are sure that Mamataji won't join us (NDA), we have no confusion about it nor have we any apprehension about it," Mr Modi said in an interview with a news channel. He said this when asked whether his attack on Ms Banerjee, the West Bengal Chief Minister, was a fallout of the BJP's failure to bring her party into the NDA, the coalition that it leads.

Mr Modi, however, said he had hoped that Ms Banerjee would be able to bring the state out of the "mess created by the Left" as she had got sufficient time. "Mamataji has got sufficient time to bring Bengal out of the mess created by the Left. But there are no such symptoms. So more than anger, I am disappointed with Mamataji," he said.

At a rally earlier this month in Siliguri, Mr Modi had launched a scathing attack on Ms Banerjee for allegedly indulging in votebank politics, drawing a sharp retort from the Trinamool Congress which alleged he had "blood on his hands".

Asked about the BJP's stand on the issue of a separate Gorkhaland state in the Darjeeling hills, Mr Modi said, "In this big country, if you try to dominate the regional aspirations by hitting on the wounds, then those wounds will increase. Sympathetically, you have to understand each and everyone's emotions, try to make them understand what way out can be reached through dialogue".

On whether there should be a CBI inquiry into the Saradha chit fund scam, Mr Modi said "Look, in this chit fund scam, a lot of poor people have lost their money. There were a few people who even went to the verge of committing suicide. In such a situation, a step needs to be taken on which people have trust. Now what will be that form, that's a different issue. But steps need to be taken on which people can have confidence."