Amid Rifts Among I.N.D.I.A Partners, TMC Seeks Seat-Sharing Formula At Earliest
According to the TMC, the momentum gained by the I.N.D.I.A bloc during three meetings has dipped in recent months due to inactivity, particularly with the Congress being occupied with state polls.
Amid speculations of internal disagreements within the Opposition bloc — I.N.D.I.A — the TMC has called for swift deliberations on seat-sharing, establishing a unified narrative, and finalising the manifesto. The party said that this is a must to present a strong challenge against the BJP-led NDA, reported news agency PTI.
A meeting of the top leaders of the I.N.D.I.A bloc, initially scheduled for the third week of December, has been postponed due to some leaders expressing their inability to attend, citing prior commitments.
However, another meeting organised by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence in Delhi on Wednesday with the floor leaders of the I.N.D.I.A constituents in Parliament is proceeding as planned. A strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls will be discussed at this meeting. Several Opposition leaders, such as Rahul Gandhi, Sitaram Yechury, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, and Raghav Chadha, among others, are present at the meeting. The meeting was, however, skipped by Akhilesh Yadav, Mamata Banerjee, and Arvind Kejriwal, indicating that not all is well within the alliance.
According to the TMC, the momentum gained by the I.N.D.I.A bloc during three successful meetings has dwindled in recent months due to inactivity, particularly with the Congress being occupied with elections in three states.
TMC's Lok Sabha MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay voiced his concerns about the negative repercussions of I.N.D.I.A partners competing against each other in the Hindi heartland states of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh — all of which the Congress lost to the BJP. "The momentum created after three successful meets of the I.N.D.I.A bloc has waned due to no activity in the last three months. The partners fighting against each other in these three Hindi heartland states have also sent out a wrong message," remarked Bandyopadhyay.
With the Lok Sabha polls just a few months away, Bandopadhyay stressed that the Congress must take the lead in finalizing seat-sharing deals in the states. He outlined three crucial steps for success: "prioritizing and sealing seat-sharing deals promptly, creating a collective narrative with a unified voice, and finalizing the manifesto."
The four-time TMC MP cautioned that delays in addressing these issues would give an advantage to the saffron camp.
TMC MP Sougata Roy echoed these sentiments, emphasizing the need for a 1:1 fight against the BJP through effective seat sharing. "If we are unable to ensure a 1:1 fight, then the BJP will gain. Regarding seat sharing, the party that is strong in a respective region should get priority," he stated.
The I.N.D.I.A bloc has held three meetings in Patna, Bengaluru, and Mumbai. TMC sources suggest that party supremo Mamata Banerjee has stressed the urgency of finalizing seat-sharing deals in previous meetings.
The TMC is particularly interested in securing a seat-sharing deal with the Congress in West Bengal, as internal assessments suggest that a potential Congress-TMC alliance could win up to 36-37 seats out of the 42 in the state, a senior TMC leader said on condition of anonymity.
A TMC leader disclosed that the alliance could significantly impact North Bengal, where the BJP had won seven seats in the previous election, as well as the Purulia and Bankura Lok Sabha seats in South Bengal, reported PTI. While the Congress has not disclosed specific plans, Congress Working Committee member Deepa Dasmunsi welcomed TMC's proposals, emphasizing the immediate need to establish a collective narrative.
"We agree with what TMC is saying, but before any form of seat sharing, the need of the hour is a collective narrative. If this narrative is in place, then seat-sharing deals would be much easier," PTI quoted Dasmunsi as saying.
Regarding seat-sharing deals in West Bengal, Dasmunsi suggested focusing on seats won by the BJP in 2019. "There is no need for talks on the seats that Congress and TMC had won respectively. The seat-sharing has to be for the 18 seats that BJP had won in 2019," she added.
Political analysts speculate that the TMC aims to be part of the national narrative and ensure consolidated minority votes for the TMC-Congress alliance to counter the BJP effectively. "The TMC wants to be part of the national narrative and wants to be aligned with a national party so that the BJP can't make the 2024 Lok Sabha polls like assembly polls as it did in the 2019 parliamentary elections," said political scientist Maidul Islam.
Political scientist Suman Bhattacharya added that the TMC seeks a unified national narrative to counter the BJP's attacks on various state-level issues. "The TMC wants that there should be a collective narrative and want to play a key role in formulating it, where all the INDIA bloc partners speak in unison and there should not be any divergent views while combating the BJP. Second, a probable TMC-Congress alliance would win at least 36-37 seats from the state," he was quoted as saying by TMC.
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