Rahul Gandhi-Abhishek Banerjee Discussion Helps End Speaker Disagreement

A resurgent opposition in the Lok Sabha saw evidence of a broader consultative mechanism between allies on Tuesday when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee were seen discussing the nomination of K Suresh for the Speaker’s post, a move that was dubbed unilateral by Mr Banerjee’s party.

Sources said the discussion and a meeting between Trinamool Congress leaders later in Parliament has led to the deadlock ending, with Trinamool chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee deciding that the party will attend a gathering of INDIA alliance members at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence at 8 pm.  

While the oath-taking ceremony of 281 remaining MPs was taking place on Tuesday, the camera panned to Mr Gandhi and Mr Banerjee, who were sitting on the front row of the opposition benches and could be seen having an animated conversation. Sources said the two leaders were discussing the Congress’ nomination of its leader K Suresh as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

The Congress’ decision, which will force an election from the post of the Speaker for the first time since 1976, had upset the Trinamool Congress, which had said it was not consulted on the issue. 

The Congress, which was also expecting Mr Suresh to be appointed the pro-tem Speaker, tried to pacify its ally saying it had decided to nominate him for the post at the last minute when the government did not respond to its demand for the Deputy Speaker post. The Deputy Speaker is traditionally picked from the opposition ranks. 

After reports emerged that the Trinamool Congress was not happy with the decision, Mr Suresh had also reached out to the party and sought its support. 

Speaking to NDTV earlier on Tuesday, Senior Trinamool leader Sudip Bandopadhyay had said, “I saw on TV and came to know… Derek O’Brien came and asked me and I said there has been no discussion… We will have a meeting and discuss (supporting Mr Suresh) and our leader will take a call… it is a party decision”.

Deepening Ties?

The discussion between Rahul Gandhi and Abhishek Banerjee comes in the backdrop of improved ties between the Trinamool Congress and the INDIA alliance after the Lok Sabha polls, in which the party had decided to go it alone, sparking speculation on whether it was planning to leave the bloc. 

In a much-improved show in the just concluded Lok Sabha polls, the INDIA alliance managed to win 232 seats, ensuring that the BJP did not get a majority on its own, and the NDA was reduced to 292 constituencies, down 60 from the 352 it had won in 2019. 

The positions of the Congress and the Trinamool Congress have also been strengthened. The national party increased its tally to 99 from 52 while the Trinamool fought off a strong challenge from the BJP and clinched 29 seats, six more than it did in 2019.