In a significant development, Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced today that the TMC will not form an alliance with the Congress for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. This declaration comes just a day before Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’s scheduled entry into the state.
CM Mamata Banerjee asserted that the TMC will go solo in West Bengal against the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Lok Sabha elections, anticipated to take place between April and May this year.
“I had no discussions with the Congress party. I have always said that in Bengal, we will fight alone. I am not concerned about what will be done in the country, but we are a secular party and in Bengal, we alone will defeat the BJP,” stated the TMC supremo.
Banerjee also claimed that she had not been informed of Rahul Gandhi’s Nyay Yatra passing through Bengal, contradicting Congress’ claims that the party had invited INDIA bloc allies to join the Yatra.
“They did not even bother to inform me that they would be coming to West Bengal as a matter of courtesy, even though I am a part of the INDIA bloc. So there is no relation with me as far as Bengal is concerned,” Mamata Banerjee asserted.
“We will decide on what to do at the all-India level. We are a secular party. We will do whatever we can to defeat the BJP. The alliance does not comprise any one party. We have said that they should fight in some states and the regional parties should be left to fight alone in the other states. They should not interfere,” she added.
The breakdown in the Trinamool Congress and the Congress alliance came after state unit chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury continued his attack on the Bengal chief minister, accusing her of coming to power in 2011 with the mercy of the Congress.
Rahul Gandhi, currently in Assam as part of his Nyay Yatra, attempted to mitigate the damage caused by the state unit chief’s repeated attacks, stating that negotiations on seat-sharing are underway.
“The negotiations on seat-sharing are underway, I don’t want to comment here. But Mamata Banerjee is very close to me and our party. Sometimes our leaders say something, their leaders say something, and it goes on. It’s a natural thing. Such comments won’t matter and these are not things that are going to disrupt things,” said Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday.
Reports suggest that the Trinamool Congress was willing to offer the Congress a maximum of three Lok Sabha seats out of the 42 seats in Bengal. In the 2019 elections, the Congress had won two Lok Sabha seats, while the TMC had secured 22 seats.
