Politicos back Mamata's assertion on BJP's failure if regional parties 'unite'

Mumbai/Patna [India], Apr 21 (ANI): Backing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's assertion that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was not a threat, the political leaders on Friday said that there would be no scope for the saffron party to form the next government, if the regional parties united together. "This is hundred percent true. The BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot do anything, if the regional parties unite together. If the regional parties of West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh come together, then there will be no scope for the BJP to form the next government," Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Ashok Sinha told ANI. Janata Dal (United) leader Rajeev Ranjan echoed a similar sentiment and said the BJP has its existence in the politics because of the regional parties. "Regional parties are very important and to underestimate them or to ignore them is disrespect to federal structure," Ranjan told ANI. National Congress Party leader Nawab Malik also backed Mamata's statement while saying that the regional parties needed to unite together and form a broader alliance to defeat BJP. "What Mamata Banerjee has said is true. There is strong hold of regional parties in many states. If they believe to defeat the BJP, they should join a broader alliance taking shape in the country to defeat NDA's 33 party alliance," Malik told ANI. The West Bengal Chief Minister yesterday asserted that the BJP was not a threat as the regional parties were enough to tackle it. Mamata's assertion came post her meeting with Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) supremo Naveen Patnaik. Accusing the BJP of playing politics of division, Mamata said the saffron party also resorted to buying the ministers and MLAs of other parties. "They divide caste, parties. They divide Hindu-Muslims. They also purchase ministers, MLAs. We don't do that. We believe in unity," she told the media here. Mamata also stated that the secular parties were always together. Responding to a poser on having discussions on forming an alliance to stand against the BJP, Patnaik said they did not have any talks regarding the same. "We had no such discussions today," Patnaik said.(ANI)