The prospective alliance between the Congress and the Trinamool for the Lok Sabha polls received a big jolt on Friday after Mamata Banerjee rapped PCC president and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee for allegedly appeasing the CPM.

She also said as a pre-condition for the alliance, the Congress should stop having any relation with the CPM.

“As a Central minister, he can attend programmes but why before the Lok Sabha elections?” Mamata asked. She also alleged that all these foundation ceremonies are election gimmicks, which Mukherjee should avoid.

On Sunday, Mukherjee — who shared the dias with Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee last month at a medical unit inauguration in Kolkata — is going to share the dias with him again for the foundation ceremony of the Rs 5000-crore East-West Metro project at Bidhan Nagar.

Asked if Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, might talk to her for an alliance, she retorted, “If they want, talks can be held with a political party.”

But why are representatives of the Central government participating in foundation programmes for projects with CPM leaders ahead of the election, asked Banerjee, pointing out that the CPM has withdrawn support to the Centre.

The Congress, however, refused to comment. “Let Pranabbabu come tomorrow,” said WBPCC vice-president Pradip Bhattacharya.

The WBPCC, headed by Mukherjee, had decided last week to tie up with the Trinamool on condition that it was on “honourable” terms and it snaps all ties with the NDA.

The Congress had withdrawn its candidate Mamtajuddin Gazi from the Bishnupur (South) Assembly constituency, which is going for by-elections on February 27. The Trinamool has fielded its general secretary Madan Mitra for the seat.