After Suvendu takes oath, Mamata urges opposition parties to form 'joint platform' against BJP

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Updated - May 09, 2026 07:06 pm IST - Kolkata Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee paid tribute to Rabindranath Tagore, on the occassion of Rabindra Jayanti, in Kolkata on May 9, 2026. | Photo Credit: ANI Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Saturday (May 9, 2026) appealed to all opposition parties in West Bengal to come together to form a "joint platform" to fight the BJP which came to power in the state after the recently held assembly elections. The former chief minister also called upon the student unions of various affiliations opposed to the BJP and the NGOs to unite against the saffron camp. Her statements came on a day when the BJP's first government in the State was sworn in. "I call upon all opposition parties, including the Leftists and the ultra-Left, to come together to form a joint platform against the BJP," Ms. Banerjee said, also calling upon national parties to join. The TMC chief said that she will talk with any political party if they want to hold a dialogue with her in this regard. "It is not the time to think the enemy's enemy is my friend, our first enemy is the BJP," she said, while addressing a small gathering in front of her Kalighat residence, while observing poet Rabindranath Tagore's birth anniversary. She claimed that atrocities were being committed against TMC workers and supporters across the State following the declaration of the Assembly election results. Ms. Banerjee said, "Hooliganism is going on at places, bad elements have entered their (BJP) ranks." The former CM claimed that she did not allow atrocities against anyone after coming to power in 2011. The BJP stormed into power in West Bengal, winning 207 seats in the 294-member Assembly to form its first government in the state, while the TMC secured 80 seats. Stating that leaders of all opposition parties contacted her after the Bengal poll results were declared, Ms. Banerjee said: "Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge spoke to me." Expressing gratitude to all of them, she said that other leaders like Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray and RJD's Tejaswi Yadav sent messages to her, while SP leader Akhilesh Yadav came to Kolkata and met her following the results. Ms. Banerjee said that Congress leaders and advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, and TMC Rajya Sabha MP Menaka Guruswamy, who represented the TMC government in various matters before the Supreme Court as well in the Calcutta High Court, spoke to her over the phone to express their solidarity. "I am also a senior advocate enrolled in the Calcutta High Court Bar Association and the Bar Council of West Bengal," she said. Ms. Banerjee said that the TMC is starting its new journey on Tagore's birth anniversary. The Mamata Banerjee-led party will be the main opposition in the West Bengal assembly after remaining in power for 15 years since 2011. Claiming that atrocities were being brought down on TMC workers and supporters across the state, Banerjee said, "hooliganism is going on at places, bad elements have entered." The former chief minister claimed that she had not allowed atrocities against anyone after coming to power in 2011. "They (BJP) have withdrawn security allotted to us from the day they won," Banerjee said. "I don't want anyone's sympathy because it is we who have won the battle; it will be proved in the future that we were wrongfully defeated," she said. Alleging that most of the TMC workers and leaders were facing threats at the hands of the BJP, Banerjee claimed that party MP Mahua Moitra was heckled while boarding a plane for Delhi from Kolkata. Banerjee alleged that some goons created trouble in front of the residences of her and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee who is also her nephew. ALSO WATCH Who is Suvendu Adhikari? The leader behind BJP’s rise in Bengal West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026 / Bengal / All India Trinamool Congress / bjp Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber Comments

After Suvendu takes oath, Mamata urges opposition parties to form 'joint platform' against BJP

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After Suvendu takes oath, Mamata urges opposition parties to form 'joint platform' against BJP

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