Mamata Banerjee contemplating alliance excluding Congress: Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday claimed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was contemplating an alliance excluding the CongressRaut in his weekly column Rokhthok in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana also claimed Banerjee having said that her party Trinamool Congress TMC will not test political waters MaharashtraNotably the TMC leadership on Saturday said it would continue to cobble up an alternative front as the Congress failed to lead the fight against the BJPBanerjee during her recent Mumbai visit had made a cryptic statement that there is no UPA nowOn Friday TMC mouthpiece Jago Bangla had launched a fresh attack on the Congress saying it has gone into a deep freezerRecently Jago Bangla had also claimed that Mamata Banerjee and not Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has emerged as the face of the opposition against Prime Minister Narendra ModiRaut whose party shares power with the NCP and Congress in Maharashtra on Sunday claimed it looks like Banerjee is contemplating something new excluding the CongressHe also claimed that during her meeting with Shiv Sena leader and state minister Aaditya Thackeray here a few days back she told the latter that we will not come here as the Shiv Sena and the NCP are strongThe Rajya Sabha member noted that the TMC is going to contest the forthcoming Assembly polls in neighbouring Goa and is also spreading its wings in the northeastern states of Tripura and MeghalayaHe said during her Mumbai visit Banerjee had discussed with Aaditya Thackeray the exchange of tourism and culture between the two statesAlso read Mamata Banerjee meets Shiv Sena leaders Aaditya Thackeray Sanjay Raut in MumbaiShe sought land for the construction Bengal Bhavan in Mumbai to enable patients to get accommodation while coming for treatment here especially at the Tata cancer hospital said Raut who is the executive editor of SaamanaThe two states share an emotional bond dating back to history It was decided that the bond should be further strengthened for the benefit of the younger generation so that they can get a peak into the history the Shiv Sena leader saidHe also said Banerjee has invited Aaditya Thackeray for the upcoming Kolkata International Film FestivalOn Saturday Saamana said keeping the Congress away from national politics and creating an opposition alliance parallel to the UPA without it is akin to strengthening the ruling BJP and the fascist forcesThe Marathi daily had also said those who dont want a Congressled United Progressive Alliance UPA should make their stand clear publicly instead of creating confusion by talking behind backDuring her Mumbai visit Aaditya Thackeray and Raut had met Banerjee on behalf of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray who is currently recuperating after a cervical spine surgeryThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever