West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday that her Trinamool Congress (TMC) party will run in the next Lok Sabha elections alone in the state, dealing a severe defeat to the opposition’s “INDIA” coalition. She highlighted unsuccessful seat-sharing discussions with Congress, a major group member, as the reason for her choice to go solo in the upcoming polls.
“They refused every proposal I made,” Banerjee added. ” Ever since then, we have chosen to go solo in Bengal.”
Banerjee’s decision comes a day after she clashed with Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, slammed the West Bengal Chief Minister, labeled her an opportunist, and stated that the party would contest the Lok Sabha elections without her help.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s reprimand follows news that the TMC intends to run candidates for all 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal. Following the fight between the two politicians, previous Congress president Rahul Gandhi sought to console Mamata Banerjee by stating that she’d been “close to him” and that Chowdhury’s seat-sharing discussions “won’t matter”.
The TMC supremo, nevertheless, conveyed her disgust with the Congress, implying that Rahul Gandhi’s conciliatory gesture had had no effect. She alleged the grand old party did not tell her about their upcoming Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in West Bengal. “As a point of respect, they haven’t even notified me they were going to organize a yatra in Bengal,” Mamta said.
The Yatra, which is now in Assam, will reach West Bengal on January 25 through Bakshirhat in the Cooch Behar District. It will pass through Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Uttar Dinajpur, and Darjeeling before reaching Bihar on January 29. It will return to Bengal by January 31 via Malda and Murshidabad, both of which are Congress strongholds.
Banerjee’s move undermines the opposition party’s efforts to form an alliance against the governing BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.
The Trinamool Congress chairman emphasized the need for regional parties to take on the BJP in their districts while proposing that the Congress should focus on battling the BJP in 300 seats. “We have stated previously, let local parties focus on BJP in their region, and allow Congress to oppose BJP in 300 seats,” Mamta said in a statement.
However, she cautioned that if Congress interferes in regional affairs, the local parties may “rethink” their strategy. She also questioned the leadership and cohesiveness of the opposition partnership, publicly criticizing the Congress’ role.
Aiming at the INDIA group, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claimed the opposition alliance was riddled with disarray and corruption, and was always tamping down internal dissent.
“Every day, INDI’s allies dismantle the alliance’s palace. They form a relationship after moving to Delhi, but fight in West Bengal… A new struggle is emerging everywhere… “Even after five meetings, they don’t have an emblem, agenda, leader, policy, or intention,” he said.
Trinamool recommended during the INDIA bloc’s fourth huddle last December that the Congress fight roughly 300 seats in confrontation with the BJP, according to sources. In the other seats, TMC suggested that Congress back regional parties.
Following the meeting, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge stated that all coalition members would collaborate to share seats.