Mamata Banerjee to attend swearing-in ceremonies of Punjab and UP chief ministers

Kolkata:  In what might be seen as a snub to the Congress, West Bengal Chief Minister and the UPA's most troublesome ally at the Centre, Mamata Banerjee, will attend the swearing-in ceremonies of the chief ministers of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Reports earlier on Saturday suggested that Mamata would decline the invitation from Akali Dal to attend Parkash Singh Badal's swearing in on March 14.
"Just learnt that Mamatadi will be going to both Lucknow & Chandigarh for the CM swearing in ceremonies (sic)," tweeted Trinamool Congress (TMC) spokesperson Derek O'Brien on Saturday night.
In Punjab, the Akalis have been voted back to power with their partner, the BJP.  The Congress had counted on winning the state. Ms Banerjee's presence at the ceremony next week will be seen as an indication of her increasingly warm relations with Congress rivals like Naveen Patnaik of Odisha. Ms Banerjee has been a loud voice in a campaign by Chief Ministers who say the Centre is a serial offender of the principles of federalism.
Before Mamata's u-turn on her decision to skip the Akali Dal's invitation, earlier on Saturday, in no small measure of relief for the Congress, she said "she is not a traitor" and has no plans to create the need for mid-term elections. Ms Banerjee's recent decisions have led to unhappy confrontations with the UPA, of which she is an indispensable member.
Meanwhile, Mr Badal's son, Sukhbir Singh Badal, has explained that his invite to Ms Banerjee has "nothing to do with wooing." "We have invited Chief Ministers from several states because of personal relations Mr Parkash Singh Badal shares with them," he added.
While Congress leader Rashid Alvi declined to comment on the invite extended to Ms Banerjee, Congress General Secretary Shakeel Ahmed, who met Ms Banerjee on Saturday, sought to play down the matter, "Invitation extended to Mamata Banerjee for the swearing-in ceremony should not be seen as a political gesture," he said.
The BJP's Sushma Swaraj said after the recent state elections in Punjab and UP that mid-term polls are likely. Dinesh Trivedi, cabinet minister from Ms Banerjee's party, said this week that he believes his party may prefer mid-term polls to capitalize on the voter preference that gave Ms Banerjee a stunning verdict two years ago. He later said that was his personal view and Ms Banerjee has said in Kolkata that all MPs from her party have been alerted not to share private opinions.
The elections in Punjab and UP have demonstrated the political might of regional parties who their states identify with. Both national parties- the BJP and the Congress-were marginalised. In Punjab, the BJP won fewer seats than it had in the last state elections. It was saved by the strong numbers if its collaborator, the Akalis, with who it now returns to power.
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Parkash Singh Badal invites Mamata Banerjee to his swearing-in ceremony

Chandigarh:  Shiromani Akali Dal's (SAD) Parkash Singh Badal, who will take oath as the Chief Minister of Punjab for a fifth time on March 14, has invited West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to attend the swearing in ceremony.
"Badal telephoned Banerjee today and invited her to attend his swearing-in as chief minister at Chandigarh," state secretariat sources in Kolkata said.
Mr Badal, who is 84, will continue as chief minister. For the first time in the last forty years, Punjab has given a second consecutive term to a party in power. The alliance of the SAD and the BJP will return to office with 68 of the 117 seats. The Congress, which had hoped that the anti-incumbency habit in the state would push it into government, was left with 46 seats.
After winning the elections on Tuesday, Mr Badala said he owed the win to his 50-year-old son, Sukhbir, who was made party president in 2008 and deputy chief minister in 2009. That appointment left the Badals wide open to allegations of nepotism. It wasn't just outsiders who took aim. The chief minister's nephew, Manpreet, who was Finance Minister, gathered his supporters and quit the Akali Dal. He set up the People's Party of Punjab (PPP); the party failed to win a single seat, and Manpreet lost both the constituencies he contested, one of which he has won four times in the past. "Manpreet has committed a Himalayan blunder and political suicide," his estranged uncle said after results were declared. Manpreet's father, Gurudas, lost his deposit in his election.
The Akalis' victory is being attributed to the party's focus on development. The BJP has done worse in these elections than last time - it has got 12 seats. But the Akalis say this does not make their partner a liability. "Last time, they won 19 of the 23 seats they were assigned," said Naresh Gujral, Rajya Sabha MP. "They could not have repeated that performance." 
The Badals' appeal was also undented by the influential religious sect Dera Sacha Sauda lending its support to the Congress.
The Congress candidate for chief minister, Captain Amarinder Singh, had predicted his party would defeat the Akalis. He won his seat, but his son, Raninder Singh, lost his constituency.

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Mamata 'keen to attend' swearing-in ceremonies in UP and Punjab, but won't due to budget session in Bengal

Kolkata/New Delhi:  Trinamool Congress chief and the UPA's most troublesome ally at the Centre Mamata Banerjee is reportedly "keen to attend" the swearing-in ceremonies of the Chief Ministers of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, but might now have to miss it for she has to attend the budget session at West Bengal assembly.
The message has been conveyed through a comment posted on Twitter by her party spokesperson Derek O'Brien that reads - "Just spoke to Mamatadi. Was keen to make trip to Ch'garh/L'now but now she'll be in #bengal on opening day of Assembly for Guv."
Sources say the Bengal Governor has asked Chief Minister Mamata to stay back for budget session. But Didi it seems has managed to send across the message to the Congress. 
It was another tweet by Derek O'Brien yesterday that had indicated that Ms Banerjee would attend the swearing-in ceremonies of Akali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal and Samjawadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav.
Since both parties are staunch opponents of the Congress, Mamata's "keenness" to attend the functions is being seen by many as yet another snub to the party. Over the past several months, Ms Banerjee has often confronted the Centre over key policy decisions like FDI in multi-brand retail.  She has also been a loud voice in a campaign by Chief Ministers who say the Centre is a serial offender of the principles of federalism.
The Congress however has so far tried to downplay the invites extended to the Trinamool chief. "Inviting someone for a function does not necessarily have some political motivation. In human relations, people invite people for a party and it should not all the time considered exclusively political," explained Congress General Secretary Shakeel Ahmed, who reportedly met Ms Banerjee yesterday after reports said that she would attend the ceremonies in Punjab and UP. Interestingly, these reports came on a day when in no small measure of relief for the Congress, Ms Banerjee said that "she is not a traitor" and has no plans to create the need for mid-term elections.
In Punjab, the Akalis have been voted back to power with their partner, the BJP.  The Congress had counted on winning the state. Ms Banerjee's desire to be present at the ceremony there will be seen as an indication of her increasingly warm relations with Congress rivals.
Mr Badal's son, Sukhbir Singh Badal, has explained that his invite to Ms Banerjee has "nothing to do with wooing." "We have invited Chief Ministers from several states because of personal relations Mr Parkash Singh Badal shares with them," he said.
After the recent state elections in Punjab and UP, BJP's Sushma Swaraj said that mid-term polls are likely. Dinesh Trivedi, cabinet minister from Ms Banerjee's party, said this week that he believes his party may prefer mid-term polls to capitalize on the voter preference that gave Ms Banerjee a stunning verdict two years ago. He later said that was his personal view and Ms Banerjee has said in Kolkata that all MPs from her party have been alerted not to share private opinions.
The elections in Punjab and UP have demonstrated the political might of regional parties who their states identify with. Both national parties- the BJP and the Congress-were marginalised. In Punjab, the BJP won fewer seats than it had in the last state elections. It was saved by the strong numbers if its collaborator, the Akalis, with who it now returns to power.

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Mamata keeps Congress on edge, will send emissaries to swearing-in ceremonies

Kolkata/New Delhi:  After putting the Congress in an embarrassing position by reportedly committing to go to the swearing-in ceremonies of Parkash Singh Badal and Akhilesh Yadav, West Bengal Chief Minister and UPA's most troublesome ally at the Centre, Mamata Banerjee, today changed her mind. The Trinamool Congress was reportedly "keen to attend" the swearing-in ceremonies of the Chief Ministers of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, but will have to miss them for she has to attend the budget session at West Bengal assembly.

The message has been conveyed through a comment posted on Twitter by her party spokesperson Derek O'Brien that reads - "Just spoke to Mamatadi. Was keen to make trip to Ch'garh/L'now but now she'll be in #bengal on opening day of Assembly for Guv."

Now, instead of attending the functions herself, Ms Banerjee will be sending emissaries to the two ceremonies.

Sources say the Bengal Governor has asked Chief Minister Mamata to stay back for budget session. But Didi it seems has managed to send across the message to the Congress.   

It was another tweet by Derek O'Brien yesterday that had indicated that Ms Banerjee would attend the swearing-in ceremonies of Akali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal and Samjawadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav.

Since both parties are staunch opponents of the Congress, Mamata's "keenness" to attend the functions is being seen by many as yet another snub to the party. Over the past several months, Ms Banerjee has often confronted the Centre over key policy decisions like FDI in multi-brand retail.  She has also been a loud voice in a campaign by Chief Ministers who say the Centre is a serial offender of the principles of federalism.

The Congress, however, has so far tried to downplay the invites extended to the Trinamool chief. "Inviting someone for a function does not necessarily have some political motivation. In human relations, people invite people for a party and it should not all the time considered exclusively political," explained Congress General Secretary Shakeel Ahmed, who reportedly met Ms Banerjee yesterday after reports said that she would attend the ceremonies in Punjab and UP. Interestingly, these reports came on a day when in no small measure of relief for the Congress, Ms Banerjee said that "she is not a traitor" and has no plans to create the need for mid-term elections.

In Punjab, the Akalis have been voted back to power with their partner, the BJP.  The Congress had counted on winning the state. Ms Banerjee's desire to be present at the ceremony there will be seen as an indication of her increasingly warm relations with Congress rivals.

Mr Badal's son, Sukhbir Singh Badal, has explained that his invite to Ms Banerjee has "nothing to do with wooing." "We have invited Chief Ministers from several states because of personal relations Mr Parkash Singh Badal shares with them," he said.

After the recent state elections in Punjab and UP, BJP's Sushma Swaraj said that mid-term polls are likely. Dinesh Trivedi, cabinet minister from Ms Banerjee's party, said this week that he believes his party may prefer mid-term polls to capitalize on the voter preference that gave Ms Banerjee a stunning verdict two years ago. He later said that was his personal view and Ms Banerjee has said in Kolkata that all MPs from her party have been alerted not to share private opinions.

The elections in Punjab and UP have demonstrated the political might of regional parties who their states identify with. Both national parties- the BJP and the Congress-were marginalised. In Punjab, the BJP won fewer seats than it had in the last state elections. It was saved by the strong numbers if its collaborator, the Akalis, with who it now returns to power.

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