Mamata Banerjee says will go solo, jolts Congress as yatra set to enter Bengal
West Bengal, Jan 24: In a major setback for the opposition’s “INDIA” alliance, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declared on Wednesday that her Trinamool Congress (TMC) party will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections alone in the state. She cited failed seat-sharing talks with the Congress, a key member of the bloc, for her decision to go it alone in the crucial polls.
“Whatever proposal I gave them, they have refused all,” Banerjee said. “Since then, we have decided to go alone in Bengal.”
Banerjee’s announcement comes a day after she traded fire with Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who criticised the West Bengal Chief Minister, called her an opportunist, and said that the party would contest the Lok Sabha elections without her assistance.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s censure followed reports that the TMC is likely to field candidates in all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal.
Following the spat between the two leaders, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi attempted to mollify Mamata Banerjee, saying that she was “close to him” and Chowdhury’s comments on seat-sharing talks “won’t matter”.
The TMC supremo, however, expressed her displeasure with the Congress, indicating that Rahul Gandhi’s olive branch had not made any impact.
She claimed the grand old party did not even inform her about their planned Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in West Bengal. “As a matter of courtesy, they haven’t even informed me they are going to hold a yatra in Bengal,” she stated.
The Yatra, currently in Assam, is scheduled to enter West Bengal through Bakshirhat in Cooch Behar district on January 25.
It will be traversing Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Uttar Dinajpur and Darjeeling before reaching Bihar on January 29. It will re-enter Bengal on January 31 through Malda and travel via Murshidabad, both strongholds of the Congress.
Banerjee’s decision throws a wrench into the opposition’s efforts to present a united front against the ruling BJP in the Lok Sabha polls.
The Trinamool Congress chief stressed the need for regional parties to take on the BJP in their respective areas while suggesting that the Congress focus on fighting the BJP in 300 seats. “We have said already, let regional parties take on BJP in their area, and let Congress fight BJP in 300 seats,” Banerjee said.
However, she warned that if interference occurs from the Congress in regional matters, the regional parties may “rethink” their approach. She also raised questions about the leadership and unity of the opposition alliance, openly questioning the Congress’s role.
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Taking a dig at the INDIA bloc, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said the opposition alliance was full of confusion, corruption, and always busy tamping down internal discord.
“Allies of INDI themselves are demolishing the palace of their alliance every day. They strike up a friendship after coming to Delhi but wrestle in West Bengal… A new conflict is seen everywhere… Even after 5 meetings, they neither have a flag, agenda, leader, nor policy or intention,” he jibed.
At the fourth huddle of the INDIA bloc last December, Trinamool proposed that the Congress should contest nearly 300 seats in which it is in direct competition with the BJP, sources said. In the remaining seats, TMC proposed that Congress should support regional parties.
After the meeting, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said all member parties of the alliance will work together on seat sharing.
-PTI
