No alliance in Bengal says Mamata, big dent to INDIA bloc hopes
The Trinamool Congress reportedly was willing to offer the Congress a maximum of three Lok Sabha seats of the 42 seats in Bengal
By : Rajib Chowdhuri
Update: 2024-01-24 07:30 GMT
Kolkata: Dealing a severe blow to the Opposition INDIA alliance and its key partner, the Congress, Trinamul Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday ruled out any alliance with the party in West Bengal for the coming Lok Sabha election.
The West Bengal chief minister also rubbished Congress scion Rahul Gandhi’s claim on Tuesday about ongoing seat-sharing talks between the TMC and Congress and said her party would contest all 42 LS seats in the state on its own.
To justify her decision, Ms Banerjee claimed the Congress earlier not only rejected her proposal, under which it would contest 300 seats across the country, but also ignored the regional parties’ plans to fight in the rest.
Asked about the talks with the Congress, Ms Banerjee said in Howrah: “I didn’t have talks with anyone. I had given them a proposal which they rejected on the very first day. Since then, our party has decided to fight alone in Bengal.”
She said: “The alliance does not belong to an individual. We, the regional parties, will stay united. We already suggested that they should contest in 300 seats and let the regional parties fight in the rest without their interference. If there is any interference, we will take it differently.”
Her bold statement came a day before Mr Gandhi is due to enter the state through Cooch Behar in the north from Assam with his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. Ms Banerjee also sprang another surprise and claimed that she was unaware of his visit with anguish.
She alleged: “I am a partner of the INDIA forum. Now they (Congress) are coming to hold rallies here. But did they inform me at least once as a courtesy about their visit to our state? They didn't. So I don't have relations with them regarding Bengal.”
Puncturing Mr Gandhi’s claims of his “closeness” with Ms Banerjee, the TMC chief added: “Post poll, we will think what to do at the all-India level. We are a secular party. We will do everything to defeat the BJP. But now, no discussion is underway. It is also an absolute lie and wrong that there are talks.”
To control the damage, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tried to woo Ms Banerjee by calling her an “important pillar” of the INDIA bloc. “We respect Mamataji a lot. We cannot imagine the INDIA alliance without Mamata ji,” he said in Assam.
Mr Ramesh noted: “If you look at her full statement… she has said she wants to defeat the BJP. That she will not step back in her fight against the BJP. We are entering West Bengal with that spirit. We hope that the talks will find some middle path.”
On the other hand, the Left, another INDIA partner, attacked the TMC over Ms Banerjee's new stand. CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said: “The CM always acts in a way that benefits the BJP. If Pisi-Bhaipo need to save themselves, they have to appease Modi-Shah. This has been proven again and is nothing new to us. The TMC earlier helped the BJP in the election of the President and the vice-president.”
Taking potshots at the Opposition bloc, state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar claimed: “Ms Banerjee wants to leave INDIA as she has realised that it is an unnatural and fruitless effort.”
The West Bengal chief minister also rubbished Congress scion Rahul Gandhi’s claim on Tuesday about ongoing seat-sharing talks between the TMC and Congress and said her party would contest all 42 LS seats in the state on its own.
To justify her decision, Ms Banerjee claimed the Congress earlier not only rejected her proposal, under which it would contest 300 seats across the country, but also ignored the regional parties’ plans to fight in the rest.
Asked about the talks with the Congress, Ms Banerjee said in Howrah: “I didn’t have talks with anyone. I had given them a proposal which they rejected on the very first day. Since then, our party has decided to fight alone in Bengal.”
She said: “The alliance does not belong to an individual. We, the regional parties, will stay united. We already suggested that they should contest in 300 seats and let the regional parties fight in the rest without their interference. If there is any interference, we will take it differently.”
Her bold statement came a day before Mr Gandhi is due to enter the state through Cooch Behar in the north from Assam with his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. Ms Banerjee also sprang another surprise and claimed that she was unaware of his visit with anguish.
She alleged: “I am a partner of the INDIA forum. Now they (Congress) are coming to hold rallies here. But did they inform me at least once as a courtesy about their visit to our state? They didn't. So I don't have relations with them regarding Bengal.”
Puncturing Mr Gandhi’s claims of his “closeness” with Ms Banerjee, the TMC chief added: “Post poll, we will think what to do at the all-India level. We are a secular party. We will do everything to defeat the BJP. But now, no discussion is underway. It is also an absolute lie and wrong that there are talks.”
To control the damage, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tried to woo Ms Banerjee by calling her an “important pillar” of the INDIA bloc. “We respect Mamataji a lot. We cannot imagine the INDIA alliance without Mamata ji,” he said in Assam.
Mr Ramesh noted: “If you look at her full statement… she has said she wants to defeat the BJP. That she will not step back in her fight against the BJP. We are entering West Bengal with that spirit. We hope that the talks will find some middle path.”
On the other hand, the Left, another INDIA partner, attacked the TMC over Ms Banerjee's new stand. CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said: “The CM always acts in a way that benefits the BJP. If Pisi-Bhaipo need to save themselves, they have to appease Modi-Shah. This has been proven again and is nothing new to us. The TMC earlier helped the BJP in the election of the President and the vice-president.”
Taking potshots at the Opposition bloc, state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar claimed: “Ms Banerjee wants to leave INDIA as she has realised that it is an unnatural and fruitless effort.”