Didi's Dilli Chalo

Confident of a firm grip on Bengal, Mamata Banerjee now wants to replay poribartan in Delhi. Hoping to win a majority of the Lok Sabha seats in Bengal, she sees the Trinamool Congress playing a major role in government formation at the Centre as part of a “federal front” — an alliance of regional parties.
Mamata said “Dilli Chalo” — repeating Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s slogan — as a crowd of lakhs cheered on. The Trinamool chief virtually kickstarted her Lok Sabha campaign even before Rahul Gandhi, Narendra Modi and the Left started theirs.
She maintained equidistance from the Congress as well as the BJP, saying she intended to bring an end to “dynastic rule” in Delhi and at the same time made it clear that she didn’t want “riot-tainted” people take over the reins. “The BJP is not the alternative to the Congress. Trinamool is the only alternative at the Centre,” she said.
Sensing that projecting the Trinamool as the national alternative was a bit far-fetched, Mamata outlined her vision of a federal front with “friends from other states” — Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Manipur and Tripura — working together. She sees her party as the kingmaker in the coalition, dropping hints that she is in touch with leaders to prepare the ground for an alternative coalition. “We need to form a federal front with powerful states. This is imperative to retain the federal character of our nation,” she said.
The federal front has long been a Mamata dream and she has met or sent emissaries to Nitish Kumar, Naveen Patnaik and Jagan Reddy. “Trinamool will play a crucial role in it. We will fight not just in Bengal but also outside,” she said. The Trinamool chief urged her party to “target” all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal. “The fight begins right here, right now. It is a long battle ahead. More seats will bring more power for the state. The Lok Sabha polls are near and Bengal will show the way. Defeat Congress, BJP and CPM candidates in Bengal. We need a positive government in Delhi. Delhi needs a change. And this call will be heard from Bengal.”
Delhi, she stressed, needs “good governance, rule of law, and a united and pro-people government”, which Trinamool has achieved in Bengal in two and a half years, she claimed.
While elaborating on her “go-it-alone” strategy, Mamata accused the Congress-led UPA government of corruption and criticised its “anti-people policies”, but, unlike earlier, didn’t name PM Manmohan Singh or Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Mamata didn’t take Narendra Modi’s name either. She only hinted that “men with a riot blemish” do not deserve to form the government at the Centre.