Double blow to INDIA bloc as TMC, AAP to go solo in Bengal, Punjab

In a major setback to the opposition INDIA bloc, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday announced that their parties will go alone in their respective states in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Banerjee's sudden comments, a day before Congress leader Rahul Gandhi-led 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' is to enter West Bengal, forced the Congress to adopt a conciliatory approach with party spokesperson Jairam Ramesh asserting that the opposition bloc INDIA "cannot be imagined without Mamata Banerjee"

Talking to reporters at Dumurjala helipad in Howrah district, Banerjee said,"I had given them (Congress) a proposal (on seat-sharing), but they refused it at the outset. Our party has now decided to go alone in Bengal.".

"Now, we have decided that there will be no relations with the Congress in Bengal," Banerjee said amid the tussle between the two parties over the seat-sharing for the Lok Sabha polls in the state.

The TMC chief also dismissed reports of any talks with the Congress over the seat-sharing, saying she has not spoken to anyone in the grand old party on the issue.

The Communist Party of India Marxist-led Left Front, the Congress, the AAP and the TMC are part of the 28-party INDIA bloc.

"Let the Congress fight 300 seats on its own (in the country). The regional parties are together and can contest the rest. However, we will not tolerate any interference by them (Congress) in Bengal," she asserted.

At the national level, the party, as a part of the INDIA bloc, will decide its strategy after the elections, Banerjee added

The TMC chief had made a similar remark during a recent rally in Kolkata, where she batted for the idea of regional leaders spearheading the fight against the BJP in specific regions, suggesting that Congress independently contest 300 Lok Sabha seats.

Expressing unwavering commitment to the opposition alliance, Banerjee said on Wednesday, “At the national level, we, as a part of the INDIA bloc, will decide our strategy after the elections. We will do whatever it takes to defeat the BJP.”

The Punjab chief minister made the statement at a time the AAP and the Congress are locked in talks over seat sharing in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Goa and Gujarat for the general elections.

However, the AAP has entered into an alliance with the Congress for the Chandigarh mayoral poll.

Replying to a question on his party's alliance with the Congress, Mann said he has said many times that "Punjab will become a hero in the country and the AAP will win 13-0 in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls".

Asked about the AAP's alliance with the Congress for the Chandigarh mayoral poll and the chief minister saying that his party will win 13 seats in Punjab, Mann said, "Then you can make it 14," indicating that the AAP could also contest the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat.

When questioned if it was clear that the AAP will not have an electoral alliance with the Congress, Mann said, "We are not going with them (Congress)."

He further said discussions have already taken place on the AAP's probable candidates for Punjab's 13 Lok Sabha seats and the names of 40 probables have come up.

"Three names came up from each constituency. There were four names from some constituencies and there is one name in Jalandhar (where the AAP's Sushil Kumar Rinku is the MP). We have put up 40 names and will conduct surveys. We have kept winnabilty as the criterion (for fielding a candidate)," he told reporters after chairing a Cabinet meeting.

Mann and several AAP leaders have been opposing any truck with the Congress for the Lok Sabha polls.

On the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Nyay Yatra, which is scheduled to enter West Bengal on Thursday, she alleged that the Congress did not inform her about the yatra's itinerary in the state.

"As a gesture of courtesy, did they (Congress) let me know that they are coming to Bengal for the yatra? I am not aware of it," she said.

The yatra, currently in Assam, is set to enter West Bengal through Bakshirhat in Cooch Behar district on January 25. After a two-day recess on January 26-27, it will traverse Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Uttar Dinajpur and Darjeeling before reaching Bihar on January 29.'

It will re-enter West Bengal on January 31 through Malda and travel via Murshidabad, both strongholds of the Congress, before leaving the state on February 1.

Reacting to Banerjee's statement, Ramesh at a press conference at North Salmara in Assam said, "No one can imagine the existence of the opposition INDIA bloc without West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee. The Trinamool Congress is an important pillar of the opposition alliance."

"At times, some small differences crop up. Some speed breakers come during a long journey but we will find a way through discussions. She (Banerjee) has said she will defeat the BJP and with this thought, we (Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra) are entering West Bengal tomorrow," the Congress leader said.

"The INDIA bloc will fight the Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal and all (partners) will participate," Ramesh said.

According to sources, the TMC's offer of two seats to the grand old party based on its 2019 Lok Sabha election performance, triggered tension among the leaders, as the arrangement was deemed insufficient.

Banerjee had made a similar remark during a recent rally in Kolkata, where she batted for the idea of regional leaders spearheading the fight against the BJP in specific regions.

Expressing her commitment to the opposition alliance, Banerjee said, "At the national level, we, as a part of the INDIA bloc, will decide our strategy after the elections. All the regional parties will stay united and the opposition front doesn't belong to any single party. We will do whatever it takes to defeat the BJP."

On the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', which is scheduled to enter West Bengal on Thursday, she said the Congress did not inform her about the Yatra's itinerary in the state.

"As a gesture of courtesy, did they (Congress) let me know that they are coming to Bengal for the Yatra? I am not aware of it," she said.

Banerjee's comments also came in the backdrop of state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury taking on the TMC and Banerjee over the seat-sharing arrangement.

A vocal TMC critic, Chowdhury has maintained that the Congress will not "beg" for seats from Bengal's ruling party.

While the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) said Banerjee's announcement could be part of a "strategy" and maintained that the INDIA bloc stands united against the BJP, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Aaditya Thackeray was of the view that Banerjee was "fighting like a tigress", and her fight was important for her state.

Meanwhile, the West Bengal BJP chief took a dig at the Opposition bloc, saying it lacked any ideological conviction and was built on an anti-Modi platform.

"Did this alliance have any ideological conviction? It was all about just opposing the Prime Minister and the BJP to protect their own political identities," BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said.

In the 2019 elections, TMC had secured 22 seats, Congress won two, and the BJP bagged 18 seats in the state.

The Trinamool Congress had recently abstained from a recent INDIA bloc virtual meeting and emphasised the necessity for Congress to recognise its limitations in Bengal, and permit the TMC to spearhead the state's political battle.

The TMC had previously allied with the Congress in the 2001 assembly polls, the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, and the 2011 assembly polls, leading to the ousting of the CPIM-led Left Front government of 34 years.