No Seat-sharing With Congress In The State
After weeks of squabbling over seat-sharing, TMC supremo and chief minister of West Bengal has announced that TMC will be fighting for all 42 seats in the state on its own. There will be no seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress here. The party will only consider a pan-India alliance with the Congress after results are declared, declared a furious Mamata Banerjee yesterday.
The two parties are considered important pillars of the INDIA alliance that hopes to put up a strong and united front to the BJP in the forthcoming General Elections. Mamata Banerjee’s severe declaration is being viewed as the final call of the two falling apart regarding a conclusion over the seat sharing negotiations that have been going on for a while. It is a blow to the INDIA opposition bloc.
“I had no discussions with the Congress. I have always said that in Bengal, we will fight alone. I gave them (the Congress) many proposals… but they rejected them,” declared Mamata Banerjee. “I am not concerned about what will be done in the (rest of the) country… but, we are a secular party. In Bengal, we alone will defeat BJP,” she asserted.
Furthermore, she hit out at Rahul Gandhi and his ongoing ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Jatra’ that is scheduled to enter the state today but is possibly not coming to Kolkata. She claimed that she was not informed officially about it, even though the Congress and TMC are part of the same INDIA alliance. “They are coming to my state… but did not have courtesy to inform me, even though I am part of the INDIA bloc. So, there are no relations with me, as far as Bengal is concerned,” she told the media.
“INDIA will be present in India (but) in Bengal the 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,” said Mamata Banerjee.
India Cannot Be Imagined Without Mamata Ji: Jairam Ramesh, Senior Congress Leader
The Congress was quick to respond through Jairam Ramesh, its senior leader. Jairam Ramesh is currently with Rahul Gandhi and the ‘yatra’ as its moves through the states. He stressed that his party cannot imagine INDIA bloc without Mamataji. He insisted, “All INDIA partners will unitedly fight Lok Sabha polls in Bengal”.
Bengali