Secular forces to unite under TMC, says expelled CPI(M) leader

All secular and democratic forces should unite under the leadership of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to fight against the BJP, expelled CPI(M) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ritabarata Banerjee said today.

Addressing a press meet here, Banerjee, along with former Rajya Sabha member Kunal Ghosh and Nationalist Trinamool Congress (NTC) president Amitabha Majumdar, appealed to the masses to vote in favour of the TMC in the upcoming panchayat polls.

"If the CPI(M) and the Congress are serious about fighting the BJP, they should agree with the 1:1 formula floated by the TMC," Banerjee, who was expelled last year for alleged anti-party activities, told reporters.

West Bengal chief minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, during a recent meet of opposition parties in Delhi, suggested a 1:1 formula for defeating the BJP. The CM called for state-level tie-ups among the parties for a united fight against the ruling dispensation at the Centre.

Talking about allegations of violence against the TMC over nomination filing for panchayat polls, Ghosh, who was suspended from the party for "indiscipline" in 2013, said the opposition should come up with a specific list of candidates who have not been allowed to submit their papers.

"I have my own set of differences with the party. But I am still a member of the TMC and I feel the party has taken up several developmental measures in the state since coming to power," Ghosh said.

Both Banerjee and Ghosh, however, evaded questions on whether they were planning to actively work for the TMC in the days to come.