Kolkata, Oct 20 (IANS) Trinamool Congress state general secretary in West Bengal, Kunal Ghosh, on Monday used the twin auspicious occasions of Kali Puja and Diwali to make a prediction that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will either become the Prime Minister in 2029 or surpass former CM, late Jyoti Basu’s records, in that chair.

The Trinamool leader’s statement was directed to the Opposition. However, he did not take anyone’s name while making the social media post.

At the same time, Ghosh claimed that Trinamool’s Lok Sabha leader Abhishek Banerjee will become the next Chief Minister of West Bengal after his aunt, Mamata Banerjee.

“Let me tell the unpopular drama-loving opposition and some jealous, depressed, disappointed slanderers as a citizen- Mamata Banerjee will break the record of Jyoti Basu’s Chief Ministership. She will be the Chief Minister till 2036. Before that time, Abhishek Banerjee’s Chief Ministership will start with her blessings,” said Ghosh in a X post.

He added: “In the meantime, if Mamata becomes the Prime Minister in 2029, then it will be a different story. Opposition should stay in the media, social media. Trinamool is beautiful in Nabanna (state secretariat), opposition is on Facebook.”

It may be noted that Jyoti Basu served as the 6th and longest serving Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1977 to 2000. He was one of the founding members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He was also a member of West Bengal Legislative Assembly 11 times.

In his political career, spanning over seven decades, he was noted to have been the country’s longest serving chief minister in an elected democracy, at the time of his resignation. He declined the post of Prime Minister following the 1996 general election after the CPI-M refused to let him head a multi-party coalition and relinquished the prime ministership to H.D. Deve Gowda.

In 2026 Bengal Assembly polls, Chief Minister Mamata will seek her fourth term as Chief Minister of West Bengal. The Opposition BJP is trying to stop the Trinamool Congress from retaining power and dethrone Mamata Banerjee as Chief Minister of the state.

–IANS

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