INDIA alliance news: Mamata Banerjee has severed ties with Congress in Bengal (file).
Calcutta:
The Trinamool Congress will contest elections to Bengal's 42 Lok Sabha seats on its own and will consider a pan-India alliance with the Congress only after the results are declared, an irate Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday. Ms Banerjee's words provide what appears to be a final blow to hopes that the two parties – widely seen as key members of the INDIA opposition bloc – will reach an agreement.
“I have not had any discussions with the Congress. I have always said that in Bengal we will fight alone. I have given them (Congress) many proposals… but they have rejected them. I am not worried about what is in the future will happen.” (rest of the) country… but we are a secular party and in Bengal only we will defeat the BJP.”
In further signs of angry tempers, she also lashed out at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and his 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', which is expected to enter Bengal on Thursday but may skip Kolkata.
“They come to my state… but were not polite to inform me even though I am part of INDIA bloc. So there are no relations with me as far as Bengalis are concerned,” she told reporters.
Ms Banerjee enjoys a good relationship with Congress matriarch Sonia Gandhi, but her ties with Mr Gandhi are considered strained. She has also previously made it clear that she is against her 'ally' in Bengal participating.
“INDIA will be present in India (but) in Bengal, Trinamool Congress will fight. In Bengal, it is only Trinamool that can teach the BJP a lesson. It can show the country the path to victory…” she had said .
Ms Banerjee's announcement has drawn a scathing criticism from the BJP's Amit Malviya, who called it a “sign of desperation”. “Unable to hold on to her political position, Mamata Banerjee wants to fight for all seats, hoping that she can still be relevant after the polls…,” the BJP's IT Cell chief wrote on X.
Mamata Banerjee's decision to fight alone in West Bengal is a sign of desperation. Unable to maintain her political position, she wants to fight for all seats, hoping that she can still be relevant after the elections.
Very much against her wishes to emerge as the face of the opposition…
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) January 24, 2024
The row between Trinamool and Congress over seat-sharing, and the bigger picture of how INDIA could defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP, has been rumbling on for weeks with no clear resolution, and neither party is willing to back down. Congress has so far ignored deadlines for striking a deal.
On Tuesday, Ms Banerjee criticized Congress's “unwarranted” demand for 10 to 12 Lok Sabha seats in her state; she had offered two, pointing out the appalling record. It won four seats in 2014 and only two in 2019.
A senior Trinamool leader, on condition of anonymity, told news agency PTI: “(Ms. Banerjee) said, 'Don't think of sharing seats with Congress'… she said she offered two seats but they demanded 10 -12.” .
Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh last week warned Congress against “unwarranted negotiations”.
READ | Trinamool's new plan as seat-sharing talks with Congress hit a roadblock
Meanwhile, in a show of strength, Ms Banerjee has directed party leaders in Birbhum and Murshidabad districts to start planning for the combined five Lok Sabha seats on their own. The latter is crucial as one of the three seats is Congressman Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's Berhampore constituency.
Mr Chowdhury, the Congress state unit chief, is strongly opposed to seat-sharing with the Trinamool and has repeatedly attacked Ms Banerjee despite attempts by leaders on both sides to forge an alliance. He responded to the offer by stating that Ms Banerjee owed her success to the 'grace' of the Congress.
When Rahul Gandhi was asked about these attacks, he downplayed them and emphasized that “Mamata Banerjee is very close to me and our party” and that sometimes it is “natural” for the two parties to criticize each other.
READ | 'Mamata Banerjee Close To Me': Rahul Gandhi downplays Congress leader's joke
“But they will not disrupt Congress-TMC relations,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, outside Bengal, the Trinamool is also unhappy with the Congress's refusal to play second fiddle to regional parties when necessary. The Congress has already been criticized for this by Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav after it refused to share seats for the Madhya Pradesh elections in November.
READ | “Defeat of Congress, not of the people”: Mamata Banerjee on BJP's three-state victory
Ms Banerjee on Monday said the Congress was welcome to contest 300 seats on its own, but urged the party to cede some seats to regional parties that have the best chance of defeating the BJP.
READ | “Congress can contest 300 Lok Sabha seats, but…”: Mamata Banerjee
“Certain regions should be left to regional parties. They can fight for 300 seats alone… I will help them, I will not contest those seats… but they are adamant in doing what they want,” she said.
“I have the power to take on the BJP, but some people don't want to listen to us about seat sharing. If you don't want to fight the BJP, at least don't give away seats to it. said the fiery Trinamool leader.
Ms Banerjee is one of the few opposition leaders to have achieved electoral success against the BJP in recent years, having orchestrated a statement victory over the saffron party in the last assembly elections.
In 2019, she also ensured that her party had an advantage and won 22 seats. However, that was less than the 34 five years ago. Ominously, the BJP went from two to 18.
With input from agencies
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