‘An idea whose time has come’: TMC backs pitch for Mamata Banerjee to be made INDIA bloc chief

Just weeks ahead of the Assembly Election in West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress has again endorsed the idea of Mamata Banerjee being anointed the leader of the opposition INDIA bloc.

Sagarika Ghose, a Rajya Sabha MP and deputy leader of the party in the Upper House of Parliament, on Monday posted a newspaper article on X written by Sanjaya Baru, ex-media advisor to late former prime minister Manmohan Singh, and endorsed the idea.

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“AN IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS COME. Former media advisor to PM Manmohan Singh calls for Mamata Banerjee to lead the opposition INDIA alliance,” Ghose wrote.

The remarks came hours after an opinion piece written by Baru was published in an English daily, wherein he said that the return of Mamata Banerjee to the office of West Bengal Chief Minister would mark a consequential development for national politics.

AN IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS COME. Former media advisor to PM Manmohan Singh calls for @MamataOfficial to lead the opposition INDIA alliance. https://t.co/APMaTw3e8M

— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) February 16, 2026

Baru wrote that Narendra Modi’s return as the prime minister in 2024 for a third term had marginalised regional PM aspirants like Nitish Kumar and N Chandrababu Naidu. However, the self-made, first-generation leader who has her feet firmly on the ground stands apart from all national and regional leaders, he added.

Baru listed Banerjee’s qualities, like her confidence (visible during her recent Supreme Court appearance)and clean image, as key highlights of her political career and her uniqueness.

“Time has come for Bengal to leave its imprint, once again, on the country,” the former editor wrote further.

It may be noted that it is not the first time Mamata Banerjee’s name has been propped up for the role of national opposition leader. In the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as well, when the INDIA alliance was put together by opposition parties, there was a huge clamour to make Mamata the alliance chief.

Even after Modi’s return, there have been demands from several opposition leaders and parties to let Mamata lead the Opposition against the BJP, with some of them claiming that Rahul Gandhi, as the face of the Congress, had failed to galvanise voters nationally.