Merger rumours swirl after Congress-TMC huddles; Trinamool says ‘not happening’ | India News

NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress on Wednesday refuted the reports of a possible merger with Congress after speculation intensified following an INDIA bloc huddle and a subsequent meeting between Mamata Banerjee and Sonia Gandhi.According to highly placed sources aware of the matters discussed at the meeting between Rahul Gandhi and Abhishek Banerjee, there was no discussion on a merger of Trinamool Congress with Congress.Party sources dismissed the speculation as mere rumour-mongering.Earlier in the day, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee met Rahul Gandhi amid the continuous resignation of leaders and the ongoing political crisis within the TMC. On Tuesday, Mamata Banerjee met Congress parliamentary party chief Sonia Gandhi at her residence in New Delhi.While neither party disclosed details of the meeting, sources told news agency PTI that Mamata stressed opposition unity and asserted that the INDIA bloc should work together to take on the BJP on various issues, including those concerning the public.This was the first closed-door meeting between Mamata and Sonia after Trinamool’s defeat in the polls, and the alleged attacks on party workers and MP Abhishek Banerjee following the elections.Tuesday’s meeting came after Mamata and Sonia, chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party, warmly greeted each other with a hug during the opposition meeting held at the Constitution Club.During the meeting, Mamata had urged all constituents to forget the past and stand united.Monday’s meeting focused on setting aside mutual bitterness, aligning with civil society movements, and acknowledging the Congress as the anchor of the opposition alliance, provided it showed a “large heart”.Sources said the former West Bengal chief minister was emphatic in asserting that leaders of the opposition alliance should avoid criticising each other, a marked departure from her previous efforts to carve out a bloc independent of the Congress.After the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Mamata had questioned the Congress’s ability to lead the opposition bloc.