Mamata Banerjee To Go Solo, TMC To Contest All 42 Lok Sabha Seats In West Bengal

Amidst disagreements over seat sharing, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is likely to contest all 42 constituencies in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal. In a closed-door organizational meeting held in the TMC stronghold of Birbhum district, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged party leaders to gear up for independent participation in the polls, dismissing the need for seat-sharing discussions, as reported by PTI citing an inside source.

"Our party supremo made it clear that we shouldn't engage in seat-sharing talks with the Congress. She mentioned that the party had offered them two seats, but the Congress is insisting on 10-12 seats at times," revealed a senior TMC leader to PTI.

This development unfolds against the backdrop of a rift among the allies in the INDIA bloc at the state level regarding seat distribution. CM Banerjee criticized the Congress for causing delays in discussing seat-sharing in West Bengal, citing what she deemed as an "unjustified" demand for 10-12 Lok Sabha constituencies. The TMC is willing to allocate only two seats to the Congress, emphasizing their better performance in those constituencies during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Simultaneously, the state Congress chief, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, a vocal critic of the TMC, has been directing criticism towards both the party and Mamata Banerjee regarding their participation in the general elections. On Tuesday, Chowdhury labeled the West Bengal CM as an "opportunist," asserting that the Congress would not participate in elections at her discretion.

However, senior party leader Rahul Gandhi downplayed Chowdhury's criticism, stating that such comments "won't matter" and highlighting Mamata Banerjee's close association with him.

"The negotiations on seat-sharing are underway; I don't want to comment here. But Mamata Banerjee is very close to me and our party. Sometimes our leaders say something, their leaders say something, and it goes on. It's a natural thing. Such comments won't matter, and these are not things that are going to disrupt things," commented Gandhi on the sidelines of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.