Mamata Banerjee as PM candidate

Ram Jethmalani on Sunday 18/3/2018 called for formation of a third front led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to “oust Prime Minister Narendra Modi” in the next Lok Sabha elections.

Both Congress and BJP governments have been deliberately apathetic to recovery of black money stashed in “Germany and other countries”, Jethmalani said, speaking to reporters at Indore.

“They have committed a joint crime of cheating people. Therefore, a third front of honest leaders is needed.”

“I want Mamata Banerjee to lead the third front to oust Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the next general elections. Mamata has the ability to be the prime minister.”

Ram Jethmalani was once a Modi supporter. He expected Modi to recover black money from foreign countries. That did not happen. He turned against Modi.

Ram Jethmalani criticised Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and the NDA government over their policy on black money. The NDA government has no right to stay in power, he said.

Ram Jethmalani wants Modi to run out of India and Jaitley in jail.

Jethmalani had written a letter to Arun Shourie, Shatrughan Sinha and Yashwant Sinha, who had reached out to Jethmalani in their fight against Narendra Modi that he has now thrown his weight behind Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, whom he described as his “selected heroine as the ruler of Indian democracy”.

BJP had expelled Jethmalani. Jethmalani was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar on an RJD ticket for the sixth time in 2016.

“I am sorry I have thrown my lot and talent at the total disposal of Mamata Banerjee and she has responded beautifully to my gesture and spoken out bravely that she would destroy the present BJP regime…I write this to make the lady of Bengal who is my selected heroine as the ruler of Indian democracy,” Jethmalani, who was expelled from the BJP in 2013, said.

Mamata Banerjee has prime ministerial ambitions like many other politicians. TMC does not have much presence outside West Bengal. Becoming PM is possible if she leads a coalition successfully or emerges leader of a coalition after elections. KCR wants a non-BJP, non-Congress Front. His TRS is a state party. It does not have presence outside Telangana. Mamata Banerjee has to decide whether she wants to be part of a coalition with Congress. Many parties like AIADMK and BJD are likely to go alone during Lok Sabha elections.

Interestingly it was Mamata Banerjee’s agitation against Tata Nano Plant in Singur that led to rise of Narendra Modi. He welcomed Ratan Tata to Gujarat and Tata Nano Plant came up in Sanand. Soon businessmen supported Modi as PM candidate. Mamata’s TMC won West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections and dislodged Left Front after 34 years. In 2014 Lok Sabha elections BJP won 282 seats and its allies won around 50 seats. TMC’s 34 seats did not make a difference.