Days after Rahul Gandhi said he’s ready to become the Prime Minister in 2019, the Opposition seems miffed with the premature declaration. Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seems to have a huge fan following on social media which believes she is most appropriate to be the Prime Minister of India.
Fans of Didi have started a campaign to make a Bengali PM, and the slogan ‘Didi for PM’ has grown louder since Rahul Gandhi’s elevation to Congress President, whom she did not congratulate for improved performance in Gujarat elections.
Mamata’s disproval of Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate can also be noticed from her conspicuous absence from the ‘fabulous dinner‘ hosted by Sonia Gandhi for all opposition leaders on the day Maoists killed 9 CRPF jawans. She even snubbed him when she visited Delhi later to meet opposition leaders to form an anti-BJP alliance. In fact, TMC’s Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien, who had challenged to ‘dethrone‘ Modi in 2019, even reportedly went on record to say that in 2019, Banerjee and Bengal will play the lead role in 2019.
Mamata has also pitched for a federal front and has met with Opposition chief minister, K. Chandrashekhar Rao, N. Chandrababu Naidu, Arvind Kejriwal and Naveen Pattanaik. In a surprise move, NDA ally Shiv Sena marched under the Trinamul Congress’ leadership to Rashtrapati Bhavan in protest against demonetisation.
And as if on cue, it is not just Mamata Banerjee who is upset with Rahul Gandhi being ‘ready’ for becoming Prime Minister. Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar has also ‘warned‘ Rahul Gandhi over his remarks. He urged Rahul Gandhi to avoid making such premature remarks about the prime ministership until the parliamentary elections are over.
