NEW DELHI: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has announced that its leader, Mamata Banerjee, will make the final decision on seat sharing with the Congress for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal.
The TMC has offered the Congress two seats out of the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, based on the poor performance of the Congress-CPM-led Left Front alliance in the 2021 assembly polls.
The Congress expressed unhappiness with the offer, saying that it does not need “Mamata’s pity”.
TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said that the state unit of the Congress cannot engage in unjustified bargaining on the issue.
Meanwhile, Alka Lamba, President of All India Mahila Congress, said that the party’s leadership has been in talks with various constituents of the INDIA bloc, including in West Bengal, for seat sharing in the Lok Sabha elections. She assured that the process will be concluded soon.
Ghosh also confirmed that the West Bengal chief minister is in touch with the INDIA bloc leadership, but no final decision has been reached yet.
Banerjee had previously said that if the TMC is not given due importance in the bloc, they are prepared to contest all 42 Lok Sabha seats on its own.
The state unit of the Congress, which has been offered two seats by the TMC, is requesting additional constituencies.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress only managed to win two seats out of the 42.
The CPM in West Bengal has emphasized that their fight is against both the TMC and the BJP in the state.
(With inputs from agencies)
The TMC has offered the Congress two seats out of the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, based on the poor performance of the Congress-CPM-led Left Front alliance in the 2021 assembly polls.
The Congress expressed unhappiness with the offer, saying that it does not need “Mamata’s pity”.
TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said that the state unit of the Congress cannot engage in unjustified bargaining on the issue.
Meanwhile, Alka Lamba, President of All India Mahila Congress, said that the party’s leadership has been in talks with various constituents of the INDIA bloc, including in West Bengal, for seat sharing in the Lok Sabha elections. She assured that the process will be concluded soon.
Ghosh also confirmed that the West Bengal chief minister is in touch with the INDIA bloc leadership, but no final decision has been reached yet.
Banerjee had previously said that if the TMC is not given due importance in the bloc, they are prepared to contest all 42 Lok Sabha seats on its own.
The state unit of the Congress, which has been offered two seats by the TMC, is requesting additional constituencies.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress only managed to win two seats out of the 42.
The CPM in West Bengal has emphasized that their fight is against both the TMC and the BJP in the state.
(With inputs from agencies)