"Baseless Rumours": Congress Rejects Trinamool Merger Buzz

The Congress has dubbed as "baseless" the speculation over a possibility of a merger of Trinamool Congress with the Grand Old Party. Speaking to reporters, Congress Organisation General Secretary KC Venugopal rejected the talks as "rumours" and "baseless".

Venugopal described the recent meetings between the Trinamool and the Congress brass as "routine engagement as part of INDIA alliance's discussion".

"How can I respond to rumours and speculation?" he said when asked about the possibility of a merger. "Of course, we will work together against the anti-democratic BJP government," he added.

The rumour mill was set abuzz after back-to-back meetings -- first of Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee with Congress matriarch Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday and then between TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee with the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday.

The meetings came in the backdrop of a widespread rebellion in the Trinamool Congress after its defeat in the Assembly election. Mamata Banerjee is struggling to keep control of her party as both the majority of MLAs and MPs have rebelled and formed separate groups.

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According to sources, Wednesday's engagement between Rahul Gandhi and Abhishek Banerjee was part of ongoing contacts between the two parties following the bloc's recent gathering.

At the meeting that lasted for one and a half hours, Abhishek Banerjee, sources told NDTV, conveyed that Trinamool wants a strong alliance and accepts Rahul Gandhi's leadership in the opposition grouping.

Congress has made clear that any proposal for a merger must come from the Trinamool and that it is not pushing for such a move.

West Bengal Congress chief Subhankar Sarkar left the door open for a merger, saying, "Politics is the art of possibilities. So, anything can happen tomorrow."

"We want Rahul Gandhi to be the voice of the downtrodden, for the suffering people. He should be the Prime Minister. And our doors are open for anyone who accepts this... Someone who lacks the guts won't join Congress. The wrong person will look for a washing machine," Sarkar said, as quoted by news agency ANI. 

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The two parties have a shared history. Mamata Banerjee founded the Trinamool Congress in 1998 after leaving the Congress. The parties worked together to defeat the Left Front government in West Bengal in 2011 before their alliance broke down the following year. They later became partners in the INDIA bloc ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.