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Mani Shankar Aiyar fired a fresh salvo at Rahul Gandhi by saying that Mamata Banerjee was the actual leader of the INDIA Bloc and he should let others handle the position.
Congress leaders Mani Shankar Aiyar and Rahul Gandhi. (PTI)
Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, known for his controversial remarks, fired a fresh salvo at Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, saying that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was the real leader of the INDIA bloc, and the alliance would perish without her.
Speaking to IANS, Aiyar remarked, “Without Mamata di, the ‘I’, ‘N’, ‘D’, ‘I’, ‘A’ of the INDIA alliance will be gone. Because Mamata Banerjee is the leader of this alliance. Along with her, there are two to four others who can achieve this position.”
“I hope that instead of trying to remain in this position, which belongs to smaller parties – whether it’s Stalin, Mamata Didi, Akhilesh, Tejashwi, or someone else – Rahul Gandhi should let them handle it,” Aiyar further mentioned.
Kolkata, West Bengal: Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar says, “Without Mamata di, the ‘I’, ‘N’, ‘D’, ‘I’, ‘A’ of the INDIA alliance will be gone. Because Mamata Banerjee is the leader of this alliance. Along with her, there are two-four others who can achieve this position. I… pic.twitter.com/d2jtl9KBud— IANS (@ians_india) February 22, 2026
The veteran Congress leader also recalled that he was Mamata Banerjee’s first National Secretary in Trinamool Congress (TMC). “I joined the party here at the end of December 1997. But within three weeks, I realised that this party belongs to Bengalis and I am not a Bengali. So then what would I do there? That’s why I left,” he said.
““What can I tell you about the Congress? I only hope that Mamata Didi once again gives such a crushing reply to the BJP leaders that they are left without a face,” he said on the upcoming state elections.
This came days after Aiyar openly criticised Rahul Gandhi’s leadership of the Congress, saying, “has forgotten that I am a member of the party, and therefore I am a Gandhian, I am a Nehruvian, I am a Rajivian, but I am not a Rahulian.”
Aiyar also attracted the ire of the Congress after he praised the LDF government in Kerala and expressed confidence that CM Pinarayi Vijayan would secure a third consecutive term. Aiyar’s comments were welcomed by Vijayan, but the Congress distanced itself from the remarks.
West Bengal Congress’s Response
Congress leaders in West Bengal responded sharply to Aiyar’s remarks, saying he was no longer attached to party activities. “Let us make it clear in the beginning — for a long time, Mani Shankar Aiyar is no more attached with the activities of Congress Party. Five Rajya Sabha seats from Bengal are vacant now. Was that a reason behind such a comment from Mani Shankar Aiyar?” Congress state general secretary Suman Roy Chowdhury told NDTV.
“Mani Shankar ji, do you know Mamata Banerjee acts as behind the curtain stooge of BJP against whom the INDIA bloc is fighting? I don’t think after staying away from the party, you have any stakes to make any decision of the Congress Party,” he added.
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said the government’s primary duty is to decisively defeat the BJP and ensure that the government is formed here for the fourth time under Mamata Banerjee, adding that “the entire country is watching who is giving the BJP a proper ideological battle.”
West Bengal is gearing up for Assembly elections in the first half of 2026, with a heated battle on the cards between the TMC and BJP. The TMC will also face the Congress, which has opted to go solo without allying with the CPI(M) this time.
February 22, 2026, 23:23 IST
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