For the Congress, a fresh salvo from ally Trinamool Congress, objecting to the setting up of a National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), along with other fellow Chief Ministers, could not have come at a worse moment: the party is not just in the midst of a tough election in Uttar Pradesh, there was also disappointing news coming in from Maharashtra on the Corporation polls.
The party is now waiting with bated breath for the results of the U.P. elections to come in. It is only then that the Congress will know whether it can secure a more permanent support at the Centre from either the Samajwadi Party (SP) — or even the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) — as insurance against the possibility of the Trinamool withdrawing support from the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). Till then, it will have to treat Ms. Banerjee with kid gloves.
On Friday, while Congress spokesperson Renuka Chowdhury stressed the fact that the nation was facing a “hard time,” and that “there could be no compromise” on terror, she was extremely diplomatic when pressed to respond to questions about Ms. Banerjee's opposition to the NCTC.
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Asked whether Ms. Banerjee was working on consolidating a Third Alternative to challenge the UPA by making common cause with other Chief Ministers opposing the NCTC, Ms. Chowdhary said, “I don't want to read more into it. It is a part of the democratic process — if a Chief Minister wants to speak to other Chief Ministers and try and form a pressure group…it is part of that process. We are not unduly disturbed.” Pressed, she simply said, “We appreciate her compulsions.”
Indeed, it was in the winter session of Parliament that Ms. Banerjee's Trinamool voted for the government-sponsored Lokpal Bill in the Lok Sabha, and then torpedoed it in the Rajya Sabha by moving several amendments, along with the other Opposition parties, much to the embarrassment of the Congress.
With the UPA reeling under crisis after crisis, solidarity among the coalition's members would have helped the Congress take on the Opposition more vigorously. But in the few months since she became Chief Minister of West Bengal, Ms. Banerjee made it more than evident that the interests of her own party will take precedence over any coalition dharma.
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The fact that the Trinamool is not a dependable ally has meant that the UPA, which enjoys a bare majority in the Lok Sabha, has to rely on outside support from the SP, the BSP and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, keeping it constantly on tenterhooks. When it comes to providing support on crucial issues, such as the Teesta Waters Accord with Bangladesh, or important policy matters or key pieces of legislation or policy matters like the NCTC, the Congress simply cannot count on Ms. Banerjee.