Kolkata: In the midst of a seat-sharing dispute, TMC leader Mamata Banerjee reaffirmed on Wednesday that her party will continue its alliance with the I.N.D.I.A bloc in the battle against the BJP. This declaration comes in the wake of disagreements over seat distribution between the TMC and the Congress in West Bengal.
During a closed-door organizational meeting of the TMC’s West Midnapore district unit, Banerjee firmly communicated her position. A senior TMC official present in the meeting, speaking on the condition of anonymity, shared, "Our party supremo clearly stated that the TMC would remain in the I.N.D.I.A bloc in the fight against the BJP. Although critical of the CPI(M), she did not utter a single word against the Congress."
The I.N.D.I.A bloc comprises the CPI(M), Congress, and TMC, collectively constituting a 28-party alliance. However, in West Bengal, the CPI(M) and Congress have formed an alliance against both the TMC and BJP.
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Banerjee’s announcement follows recent remarks by TMC’s Lok Sabha Party leader Sudip Bandopadhyay, who expressed the party's willingness for an alliance with the Congress for seat-sharing in West Bengal's upcoming Lok Sabha elections but indicated preparedness to go solo if negotiations fail.
Wednesday's development coincided with state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, a prominent TMC critic, asserting that the Congress wouldn't "beg" for seats from Bengal’s ruling party.
Multiple sources confirmed that the TMC is considering allocating four out of the state's 42 Lok Sabha seats to the Congress. In the 2019 elections, TMC secured 22 seats, Congress won two, and BJP bagged 18 seats in the state.
Chowdhury, also the Congress leader in Lok Sabha, secured the Baharampur seat in the 2019 elections, while Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury, a former Union minister, secured a third consecutive win from the Malda Dakshin seat.
Banerjee, expressing confidence in an alliance between TMC, Congress, and the Left in West Bengal last November, faced swift dismissal of her proposal by arch-rival CPI(M) and criticism from some Congress leaders. Days later, she accused the two parties of aligning with the BJP, affirming that the TMC would confront the saffron camp in West Bengal. The TMC had previously allied with the Congress in the 2001 assembly polls, 2009 Lok Sabha elections, and the 2011 assembly polls, leading to the ousting of the CPI(M)-led Left Front government after 34 years.
—Input from Agencies