Subhechcha Ganguly 
Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee on Saturday urged opposition parties across the country to come together against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), days after the BJP secured a sweeping win in the West Bengal Assembly elections by winning 207 out of 294 seats.
Addressing supporters at a gathering near her Kalighat residence in Kolkata during celebrations of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s birth anniversary, Banerjee appealed to political parties, student organisations, and civil society groups to unite against the BJP both in Bengal and at the national level.
“A reign of terror has begun. All parties opposed to the BJP must stand together. We are open to discussions for building a united platform,” Banerjee said, while also calling on Left and ultra-Left groups to join the opposition effort.
The TMC leader indicated that her party is preparing for a legal challenge following the election results. She said senior lawyers including Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Prashant Bhushan and Menaka Guruswamy were supporting the party’s legal strategy.
“We know how to fight this battle,” Banerjee asserted, adding that she herself has a legal background.
She also alleged that facilities provided to her as chief minister, including cellular services, were withdrawn soon after the BJP assumed power. Banerjee further claimed restrictions were imposed on organising Tagore birth anniversary celebrations in parts of Kalighat.
The TMC supremo said several opposition leaders from across the country had reached out to her following the election outcome. According to Banerjee, she spoke with Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Uddhav Thackeray, Tejashwi Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav, Hemant Soren and Arvind Kejriwal regarding opposition unity.
