New Delhi [India], June 11 (ANI): Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh dismissed news reports linking the recent meeting between Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee to merger talks between the two parties, saying that they were “completely inaccurate”.
He said that the meeting between Gandhi and Banerjee was “cordial”, where personal matters were discussed, given the long relationship between the two leaders.
In a post on X, Ramesh said, “Some news reports on what supposedly transpired in the meeting between Sonia Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee are completely inaccurate. The meeting was very cordial and many personal matters were talked about, given the long relationship they have had.”
The clarification comes amid speculation in sections of the media over the possibility of a political merger between the Congress and the TMC following the meeting between Sonia Gandhi and Banerjee in New Delhi.
Amid intensifying internal rift within the TMC, a series of resignations and rebel assertions have fuelled uncertainty over the party’s internal cohesion.
Expelled TMC leader Ritabrata Banerjee categorically rejected speculation of any merger between the dissident faction and Congress, asserting that the ongoing developments remain strictly internal to the organisation.
“The count is currently 64 (MLAs). These people will come and submit a letter to the Speaker,” Banerjee told ANI, claiming that support for his faction has increased from 58 to 64 MLAs.
He added that the group would soon formally approach the West Bengal Assembly Speaker to consolidate its position.
Dismissing merger speculation, he said, “Regarding a merger, as for our legislative party, we are certainly not joining the Congress. The MPs in Parliament, more than two-thirds of them, are not merging with the Congress either.”
Banerjee further stressed that no section of the party–including MPs, municipal representatives, Zilla Parishad members, or Panchayat members–is moving towards any merger.
On Tuesday, a day after the INDIA bloc meeting, Mamata Banerjee met Sonia Gandhi at her residence.
In a post on X, Trinamool Congress spoke about the warmth between the two leaders.
The meeting between the two leaders took place on a day a CID team reached Mamata Banerjee’s residence in Kolkata as part of its probe into the alleged forged signature case.
Mamata Banerjee’s TMC has been witnessing internal troubles ever since it lost the 2026 West Bengal assembly polls. (ANI)
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