At around 5:30 pm on Wednesday, Congress president Sonia Gandhi messaged West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, conveying her best wishes for Diwali. Banerjee, promptly replied. While the exchange itself was a part of the accepted political etiquette, with elections around the corner in the state, the consequent speculation is inevitable. The message, wishing Banerjee and her family best wishes for Diwali was sent by Sonia Gandhi, from her personal mobile phone. A source close to the CM said, "The message came by evening. A little after 5:30pm. After reading the message, Banerjee promptly replied and wished the Congress president her best wishes. This wasn't a public relations message, but one from her personal phone to Mamata's personal phone," said the leader. This message comes at a time when the Congress, in West Bengal, is actively courting the CPI(M). On November 14, Former Speaker of Lok Sabha, Somnath Chatterjee, has been invited as a key speaker at a seminar on Jawaharlal Nehru, organised by a Congress-led platform, on the 125th birth anniversary of the country’s first Prime Minister, in Kolkata, as part of the November 14 seminar “Jawaharlal Nehru and Modern India - Contribution and Legacy”. Academics Irfan Habib, Romila Thapar and Mukul Kesavan are among those who will participate. Shashi Tharoor, Mani Shankar Aiyar and Teesta Setalvad are also slated to speak. State Congress leaders stressed on the importance of holding on to Nehru's legacy to 'combat anti-secular forces in the country'. But a senior Congress leader in Delhi pointed out, "Right now, the party is keeping all options open. After BJP's loss in Bihar, Mamata's importance in national politics has heightened. The TMC is presently the third largest party in Lok Sabha after the BJP, Congress and AIADMK. Moreover, their role in Rajya Sabha has also become key." After the BJP-led NDA lost the Bihar elections, many pointed out the major jolt received by the party in their long-term goal of achieving majority in Rajya Sabha - a requirement to get non-Money Bills passed in the Parliament. Five Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar will be vacant following the retirement of five JD-U members in 2016, another six seats from the state will be vacant due to retirement of four JD-U and two BJP members in 2018. The numbers which the NDA got in Bihar Assembly election result on Sunday will, however, get it only one out of five Rajya Sabha seats in 2016 and one out of six seats in 2018. The overall figures for NDA from Bihar, in Rajya Sabha, will remain unchanged by 2018. West Bengal has 16 Rajya Sabha seats. Only Uttar Pradesh - with 31 seats, Maharashtra with 19 seats and Tamil Nadu with 18 seats, have more. Of these 16 Rajya Sabha seats, the TMC has 12 Rajya Sabha members. "Right now, the Congress knows that allying with the Left in the Bengal Assembly might lead to significant gains ahead of the elections in the state. But as a part of a long term national strategy against the Modi-led government, it's clear that Banerjee will play a key role," said the leader.
