One of the conditions put forward by the Congress for the “grand alliance” with the Trinamool was that the latter cut off all its ties with the NDA.

On Monday, Banerjee was at pains to explain she now indeed had nothing to do with the NDA or the BJP, which she dubbed as “communal”. “My party has no connection with the BJP. Since 2008, we do not participate in NDA meetings,” Banerjee said at a press conference.

“To us, the BJP, like the CPM, are parties that create issues on air just before the elections. Recently, the BJP brought back the Ram Mandir issue once again before the polls, which is unwanted,” she said adding that even during her proximity with the NDA, she had her own agenda. “Though we were with the NDA, we had nothing to do with the communal politics of the BJP,” she added.

The Trinamool chief said her party would focus in increasing its organisational strength in North Bengal, considered to be a Congress stronghold. Seeking to raise the political heat on Singur, Banerjee once again demanded that acquired land should be immediately returned to the unwilling farmers. “The government will have to return Singur land to the farmers. Our agitation will go on until the land is returned,” she said.