Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor has rubbished speculation about a possible merger between the Trinamool Congress and the Indian National Congress, saying he sees no such possibility in West Bengal over the next decade.
Speaking to News Tak, Kishor said political parties are built over years and cannot be eliminated or absorbed overnight even after suffering electoral setbacks.
‘TMC became complacent’
Reflecting on the recent political developments in West Bengal, Kishor said one of the key reasons behind the TMC’s setback was complacency.
He recalled that before the 2021 Assembly elections, when he was associated with the party, there was a widespread belief that the BJP could defeat the TMC after the ruling party’s poor performance in the parliamentary and local body elections.
“When you’re under pressure, you work harder, you try to get better and you try harder,” he said.
This time, however, TMC had comfortably won the panchayat elections and performed better than expected in the Lok Sabha polls, creating a feeling that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee would finally retain power.
“That made the TMC complacent, while the BJP came much better prepared,” Kishor said.
While acknowledging issues related to administration, the Special Intensive Review (SIR), deployment of central forces and controversies during counting, he maintained that complacency was a major factor behind the result.
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Defections do not define a party
When asked about reports that MLAs and MPs are distancing themselves from the TMC, Kishor argued that the strength of a political party cannot be measured by defections alone.
“Internal party issues and ideology are not determined by MPs or MPs,” he said, citing the Congress as an example of a party that continued to exist despite several leaders leaving over the years.
Kishor noted that more than two million voters in Bengal had backed the TMC and said those votes reflected support for Banerjee, her policies and her political programme.
“You cannot weigh those two million votes against 10, 20, 25 or even 50 MLAs who switch sides,” he said, adding that many of these legislators had been elected on the TMC symbol.
‘I completely reject that idea’
On speculation that the TMC could eventually merge with the Congress, Kishor was unequivocal.
“I don’t think that’s ever going to happen,” he said.
He argued that the main political parties are not created overnight nor do they disappear overnight.
“The TMC was not built overnight, and it will not disappear overnight either. The same applies to the Congress or the BJP,” he said, pointing out the BJP’s own journey from having just two MPs to becoming the dominant political force in the country.
Kishor said that in his assessment, there was “no chance” of a merger between TMC and Congress in Bengal in the next five, seven or even 10 years.
“I completely reject that idea,” he said.
Why mergers are rare
Kishor distinguished between electoral alliances and formal mergers, saying that parties often retain separate identities even when working together politically.
He pointed to smaller allies of the BJP-led NDA and asked whether leaders like Jitan Ram Manjhi, Upendra Kushwaha or Chirag Paswan would merge their parties into the BJP.
To make his point, Kishor used a corporate analogy.
“Hindustan Unilever makes Rin and Surf. When you buy either product, the money ultimately goes to Hindustan Unilever. Does that mean the company should merge both brands into one?” he said, arguing that there are strategic reasons for maintaining separate identities.
Unless a party reaches a point where it can no longer sustain itself, mergers remain highly unlikely, Kishor said, adding that even relatively large allies like the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) and the NCP have retained separate identities despite their alliances.
“A merger is a very important step and decisions of this type are extremely rare,” he said.