Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi will be delighted if Mamata Banerjee joins Nyay Yatra: Jairam Ramesh

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday spoke with West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee today. "We will find a way forward," said Jairam Ramesh amid the Congress-TMC alliance impasse.

"Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi will be delighted if Mamata Banerjee joins Nyay Yatra in West Bengal even if it's for few minutes," Jairam Ramesh said  further. 

"Congress president Kharge has spoken with her today and we will find a way forward because her objective is the objective of the INDIA bloc which is to defeat the BJP resoundingly in West Bengal and convincingly in other parts of the country," he said.

Ramesh said the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra would be immensely strengthened by her presence.

"Without her, we cannot fight the BJP in Bengal and the rest of the country. She is the integral, essential pillar of the opposition bloc INDIA. She has played a crucial role in making the INDIA bloc a reality," the Congress leader said.

Ramesh's remarks came after Gandhi expressed confidence in the unity of the opposition INDIA bloc in combating injustice nationwide.

The 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra,' led by Gandhi, entered West Bengal on Thursday from Assam through Bakshirhat in Cooch Behar district. It will take a two-day break on January 26-27 before restarting on January 28.

Banerjee had told reporters on Wednesday, "I had given them (Congress) a proposal (on seat sharing) but they refused it at the outset. Our party has now decided to go it alone in Bengal."

After Banerjee's sudden comments, the Congress has adopted a conciliatory approach with Ramesh asserting that the opposition bloc INDIA "cannot be imagined without Mamata Banerjee".

The CPI (M)-led Left Front, Congress, and the TMC are part of the 28-party INDIA bloc.

In the 2019 elections, the TMC secured 22 seats, Congress won two, and the BJP bagged 18 seats in the state.