LS Polls: TMC Declines Meeting Cong Alliance Panel On Bengal Seat-Sharing, Conveys Stance — Report

Lok Sabha Election 2024: The TMC has reportedly decided not to meet the Congress party's national alliance committee over seat-sharing in West Bengal.

File Photo of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee during a previous I.N.D.I.A. bloc meeting. ( Image Source :PTI )

Lok Sabha Election 2024: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has reportedly decided not to participate in any meeting with the Congress party's national alliance committee to discuss seat-sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. According to news agency PTI, TMC sources revealed that the party has already communicated its stance to the Congress, bringing forth a potential rift in the alliance.

The Congress' alliance committee has been engaged in seat-sharing discussions with partners of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A.) from various states. TMC sources told PTI that despite the Congress reaching out for a meeting, they have made it clear that they are not inclined to send representatives for talks.

According to inside sources cited by PTI, the Trinamool Congress has proposed allocating two seats to the Congress, specifically the ones it secured in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. West Bengal, with its 42 parliamentary constituencies, has become the focal point of negotiations between the two parties. However, the Congress has expressed dissatisfaction with the offer, deeming it too low and challenging to accept.

Lok Sabha Election 2024: TMC To Support Congress In Goa

According to PTI, a TMC insider stated, "Any alteration to the offer can only be authorised by Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee." The party is also contemplating contesting from one seat in Meghalaya and a minimum of two seats in Assam, as per PTI sources. Interestingly, despite the TMC's local unit expressing a desire to contest from a seat in Goa, where it garnered around five per cent vote share in the 2021 assembly polls, the party has decided not to push for it and extend support to the Congress in the coastal state, PTI's report stated.

In the context of West Bengal, a senior TMC leader justified the party's offer by citing the Congress' historical vote share in both assembly and Lok Sabha polls. "In at least 39 out of 42 seats in West Bengal, the Congress had less than five per cent vote share in the past," the leader emphasised, as per the report. In the 2021 assembly polls, the Congress secured a vote share of 2.93 per cent, 12.25 per cent in the 2016 assembly polls, and 5.67 per cent in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

"The Congress leadership should acknowledge the ground reality in Bengal. They are weak," the TMC leader asserted. "We are ready to lead the fight in West Bengal, committed to the INDIA bloc, and determined to defeat the BJP. Our position is clearly spelt out with data, so there is no need for one to go to Delhi and have another discussion," the leader concluded, as quoted by PTI.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the TMC secured 22 seats in West Bengal, the Congress won two, and the BJP managed to secure 18 seats.

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