"We Don't Need Opposition Unity In Bengal": Trinamool MP Sougata Roy

Amid ongoing efforts by the top Opposition players to forge a national front against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre, with an eye on next year's Lok Sabha polls, Trinamool Congress(TMC) MP Sougata Roy on Sunday said there was no need for a rainbow alliance of the Opposition in his state as his party was quite capable of fighting and winning the polls on its own.

Speaking to ANI in Kolkata on Sunday, Roy said, "We can do without an Opposition unity in West Bengal. The TMC, alone, is capable of fighting the parliamentary elections here. We don't need an Opposition unity in Bengal."

At a mega meeting of top Opposition parties in Patna last month, the leaders, including TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, took the first steps to put together a grand alliance against the BJP at the Centre in time for the next general elections.

At a joint press conference after the meeting, the Opposition leaders said they had resolved to set aside their difference and put up a united fight against the BJP in the battle for the Lok Sabha next year.

The next meeting of the Opposition parties is scheduled to be hosted by Bengaluru in Congress-ruled Karnataka, over two days -- on July 13 and 14.

Further, wading into the ongoing war of words between the ruling TMC and the principal Opposition, the BJP, over the deployment of central forces in the state ahead of the July 8 panchayat polls, Roy said BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar cannot dictate how the central para forces will be deployed across the state.

"Calcutta High Court recently ordered the deployment of central forces in West Bengal (for the panchayat elections). The TMC government and the State Election Commission (SEC) have agreed to abide by the ruling. The State Election Commission (SEC) will deploy the central para forces wherever they deem fit. Sukanta Majumdar can not dictate how the central forces will be deployed. The prerogative is with the State Election Commission," the TMC MP said.

The BJP state chief, on Saturday, alleged that if the central armed forces were not deployed near polling booths, the TMC would rig the panchayat polls.

He also questioned the intent of the state poll panel to ensure proper deployment of the central forces, saying it was not above suspicion.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)