NEW DELHI: Politics, no doubt, is bitter-sweet. And the mango season has for long been used by parties to try and sweeten ties.
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and PM Narendra Modi fought a bitter battle for Bengal. Even after Mamata took oath as CM, the bitter exchanges between the state and the Centre refused to die down.
But come mango season and she was prompt in sending her seasonal regards to New Delhi.
Mamata sent over Bengal’s pick of mango varieties — Himsagar, Malda and Lakshmanbhog — to Modi last week. The gesture was extended to President Ram Nath Kovind, VP M Venkaiah Naidu, defence minister Rajnath Singh and home minister Amit Shah. She also sent mangoes to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.
Whether Banerjee’s mango diplomacy helps sweeten the bitterness between the state and the Centre — which has continued over political violence in Bengal, Narada scam cases, chief secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay’s sudden transfer and governor Jagdeep Dhankar — before the monsoon session of Parliament will be keenly watched. However, Banerjee has continued with the tradition she started in 2011, when she first became chief minister.
